George I of Great Britain

George I of Great Britain

George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death in 1727. Born in Hanover, George inherited the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime. He died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover and was buried outside the United Kingdom.

About George I of Great Britain in brief

Summary George I of Great BritainGeorge I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover. Born in Hanover, George inherited the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime. He died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover and was buried outside the United Kingdom. During George’s reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. George’s father took him on campaign in the Franco-Dutch War with the deliberate purpose of testing and training his son in battle. In 1683 George and his brother Frederick Augustus served in the Great Turkish War at the Battle of Vienna, and George bore a son, George Augustus. The following year, George was informed of the adoption of primogeniture, meaning he would no longer receive part of his father’s territory as he had expected. This led to a breach between George and Frederick Augustus, and between the brothers, and his father, that lasted until George’s death in 1690. George was the most recent British monarch to be buried outside of the UK and is the only one to have been born in the Holy Roman Empire. George I was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus and his wife, Sophia of the Palatinate. His mother was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia.

George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, thereby securing additional incomes that would have been outside Salic laws. The marriage of state was arranged primarily as it ensured a healthy annual income and assisted the eventual unification of Hanover and Celle. George and Sophia had four sons and a daughter; George’s brother, Frederick Augustus was born in 1661, and the two boys were brought up together. By 1675 George’s eldest uncle had died without issue, but his remaining two uncles had married, putting George’s inheritance in jeopardy as his uncles’ estates might pass to their own sons, should they have had any, instead of to George. George died in 1683 at the age of 46. He is buried in the Hanover Cathedral, where he was buried with his wife Sophia, his two sons and his two daughters, as well as his two brothers and two nephews. His son Frederick Augustus became an Elector of the HolyRoman Empire in 1692, and made an important contribution to the Empire’s wars, including in the battle of Vienna. George Augustus was also the first Elector to die in battle in 1693, and was an important figure in the formation of the single Hanoverian state, and later in the creation of the German state of Hessen-Württemberg. George was the only heir to the German territories of his dad and three childless uncles; he was the only son to survive to adulthood.