From George I to George III The Hanoverian Lineage and Its Legacy

George I was the King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1727. He was the first monarch of the House of Hanover and was born in the Duchy of Hanover in Germany. George I was the eldest son of Elector Ernest Augustus of Hanover and Sophia. His mother, Sophia, was the granddaughter of James I, which gave him a claim to the British throne. Under the Act of Settlement of 1701, George was designated as the successor to Queen Anne, ensuring that the British throne would pass to a Protestant rather than a Catholic. When Queen Anne died in 1714, George I ascended to the throne as King of Great Britain and Ireland. He did not speak English and primarily communicated in German and French, which created a cultural divide during his reign.

Sophia Dorothea was a princess of the Duchy of Celle and the wife of King George I of Great Britain. She married her cousin, George Louis (later George I), in a political union aimed at consolidating the power of the House of Hanover. Sophia felt isolated in her marriage and later developed a romantic relationship with a Swedish nobleman, Philip von Königsmarck. This affair was eventually discovered, leading to severe consequences. In 1694, Sophia was accused of infidelity, disowned by George I, and sent to the Castle of Ahlden in Germany. She spent the remaining 32 years of her life under house arrest at the castle, isolated from the outside world.

George II was born at Leine Palace in Hanover, Germany, as the eldest son of George I and Sophia Dorothea. He received a strict education but was affected by his parents’ strained relationship during his childhood. George II was close to his mother but had a tense relationship with his father, which sometimes resulted in public political and familial conflicts. George II was married to Queen Caroline, with whom he shared a harmonious marriage, and they had nine children. Caroline was a key political advisor to George II, and her death deeply affected him.

Frederick, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King George II and Queen Caroline, and the father of George III. He was the first in line to the British throne but died of pneumonia at the age of 44 during his father’s reign, preventing him from becoming king.

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III, was born in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in the Holy Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Duke Frederick II of Saxe-Gotha and Margaret of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. When Frederick died in 1751, Augusta became the Dowager Princess of Wales. At the time, her eldest son George (the future George III) was only 12 years old. After her husband’s death, Augusta worked to protect the rights of her children, particularly George III’s claim to the throne. She became increasingly active in politics and was an influential figure in British domestic and royal affairs.