Described as “crawling through the family tree with interesting connections”. Professor Brigitte Sokop, Vienna 17th district, the research for the little nut no. 429 around the English King George I, his son and their two wives. (NB in this section, these rulers keep their German names instead of the anglicized George.) “How glorious!” exclaims the tinkerer before delving into this “time of courtesans and intrigues”. More on that later.
Deliver first Mag. Luise & Ing. Konrad Gerstendorfer, Germany-Wagram, historical context: Anne of the House of Stuart (1665-1714) was Queen of England from 1702, among other things. As early as 1701 “a law had been enacted” “according to which the English throne always had to pass to the next . . . Protestant relative of the royal family” (Act of Settlement). This prevented a takeover by Catholics.
Helmut Erschbaumer, Linz, continues: After Anne died “without living descendants” in 1714, “the dominion of the House of Stuart . . . passed to the . . . House of Hanover.” Her successor should have been Sophie von der Pfalz, who, as the daughter of Elector Frederick (also known as the “Winter King”) and Elisabeth Stuart, was a granddaughter of King James I of England.
Called to the Thames
Since Sophie died in 1714, shortly before becoming Queen of England, the succession to the throne fell to her son George (1660-1727). Ing. Alfred Kaiser, Purkersdorf: “The 54-year-old . . ., Elector of Hanover since 1698, learned at his summer retreat at Herrenhausen Palace that he was to become king . . ..”
Thus it was Georg who established the ruling house of Hanover on the English throne. Gerhard Toifl, Vienna 17th, adding that this “reigned in Britain until 1901”. (NB This country name has been in use since 1707 when Scotland and England were united under one crown as Great Britain.) Wolfgang Woelk, Gotha/D, further: “From 1714 to 1837 there was a personal union between Great Britain and Hanover. During this time the government of the Hanoverian state was carried out from the German Chancellery in London.” This arrangement “ended with the accession to the throne of England’s Queen Victoria, since . . . Hanover did not provide for a female succession to the throne.”
dr Alfred Komaz, Vienna 19th, comes back to George. At a young age, in 1680, he had been invited to “stay at the English royal court”. But the plan to betroth him to the “English Princess Anne Stuart” (later Queen) failed.
Envoys inR dr. Josef Litschauer, Vienna 10: “Georg Ludwig – that’s the name he used in his homeland” – married in 1682 “his biological cousin Sophie Dorothea (1666-1726), only 16 years old, only daughter and heiress to the Duke of Lüneburg-Celle”.
The marriage was not a happy one, according to many sources. dr Harald Jilke, 2nd district of Vienna, found the following statement from Georg’s mother on annual payments due to the bride from her family: “The marriage doesn’t interest him much, but ten thousand thalers convinced him, just as they would have convinced anyone else.” The couple had two children: Georg August (1683-1760), who was to succeed his father to the English throne, and Sophie Dorothea (1687-1757), later the wife of Frederick William I of Prussia (1688-1740).
The woman’s fault
The inventor Prof. Sokop, who has already been quoted, found little that was flattering about Georg Ludwig: He “ignored his wife and had numerous mistresses”. She, on the other hand, “consoled herself with Philipp Christoph Graf von Königsmarck”. The affair blew up. Sophie Dorothea “was arrested” and “due to adultery and an escape plan” after a trial they divorced. They were banished to the “old moated castle of Ahlden”, about 50 km north of the city of Hanover. The vernacular gave her the title “Princess of Ahlden”. After Georg’s arrival in London, “his inhuman behavior” became known. Above all, he was never forgiven for the fact that “his wife was no longer allowed to see her children.”
Many negative descriptions of the new English king, who was also a foreigner and spoke hardly any English, can probably be interpreted in this light.
Maria Thiel, Breitenfurt, noting that “Sophie Dorothea . . . died on November 13, 1726 at her place of exile”. “Her son was King George II” (r. 1727-1760) and the “last monarch born outside of Britain.”
His relationship with his wife Caroline von Brandenburg-Ansbach (1683-1737) was in clear contrast to that which his parents had, as Brigitte Schlesinger, 12th district of Vienna, discovered: “He had heard accounts of Caroline’s ‘unparalleled beauty and intellectual qualities’.” The first personal meeting in June 1705 convinced both. Christine Sigmund, Vienna 23: “Georg adored his wife, but allowed himself to be influenced by his mistresses. English contemporaries considered him cold and calculating.” However, some historians feel so Dr. Karl Beck, Purkersdorfthat Caroline would have “managed” her husband. Among other things, she initiated a “reform of English criminal law”.
Exported Dispute
Unlike her mother-in-law Sophie Dorothea, whom she never got to know, Caroline did set foot on English soil. Special nutcracker Schlesinger has already quoted details: Georg August was part of the entourage that left Hanover in September 1714 to attend his father’s coronation. “Caroline and her daughters didn’t leave until October….” She lived with her husband and the king “in London at St. James’s Palace”.
But the family idyll didn’t last long Prof. Dr. Monika Rath, Vienna 7th district, noted: “The son accused the father of incompetence”. He “felt threatened by . . . his son’s intrigues . . . The main point of contention between the two stubborn heads was Robert Walpole, who was at the head of the government”, who was de facto Prime Minister from 1721.
After the death of George I, the coronation of the new royal couple took place, so Ing. Helmut Penz, Hohenau/ March“held in Westminster Abbey in 1727.”
Herbert Beer, Wolfpassing, researched more about the king’s wife: “Caroline had many scientific and artistic interests.” She corresponded with Leibniz, among others, and supported Voltaire “during his time in English exile (1726-1729)”. She is also considered “one of the greatest patrons” of George Frideric Handel, who dedicated “Water Music” to her.
There are further connections between German lands and the English royal family Michael Chalupnik, Sieghartskirchen: When Queen Victoria (House of Hanover) died in 1901, her son Edward succeeded her. This was – after his father Albert – from the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. “On July 17, 1917, King George V changed the name of the ruling family to “Windsor”, which is still used today. He cited anti-German sentiment after the bombing of London as the reason. The latest research assumes disputes with the German branch of the family.
Compilation of this rubric: Barbara Ottawa
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