George I

George I by Godfrey Kneller, 1714.

George I of Great Britain, or Georg Ludwig of Hanover, was a living symbol of loss of power in the monarchy. Originally the Elector of Hanover before his accession to the very foreign British throne, he much preferred to be in his homeland and the British people, with whom he was not popular, preferred him there as well. Nevertheless, George I became the first Hanoverian monarch and the first Georgian monarch to rule over a country experiencing an influx of wealth, industry and agriculture unlike anything they had ever seen before.

George I, for all intents and purposes, should not have been king. His claim to throne was slim at best. After the glorious revolution and the Catholic James II being deposed, parliament passed the Act of Settlement which barred Roman Catholics from coming to the throne given that the monarch was head of the Protestant Church of England. This meant that after the death of Anne, the last of the Stuart Monarchs who had ruled England for 111 years and Scotland for 343 year, only her Protestant heirs could ascend the British throne. This meant that over fifty potential heirs were passed over, including her brother, James Stuart, and nephew, Charles Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charlie as he is commonly known. The next heir was Anne's second cousin, once removed: Sophia of Hanover. The granddaughter of James I, Sophia was the elderly widowed Electress of the German state of Hanover. Her eldest childwas the current Elector, Georg Ludwig.

Sophia of Hanover (George I's mother) 

Only months before the death of Queen Anne, Sophia died and Georg Ludwig was suddenly the heir to a country he had only seen once. From the beginning, Georg was not popular. His mother, Sophia, had been a great renaissance woman and patron of the arts. Her vivacious personality had made her a popular presence at the British court. People were disappointed to see that her stuffy, fat son who could hardly speak English was now the heir. When Queen Anne died, George I arrived in London with his son, grandchildren and two mistresses. As a result of a scandal that had rocked the German states, the Queen was absent.

George I's wife was Sophia Dorothea, the daughter of the Duke of Luneberg-Celle. She was his first cousin and the two married in 1682. They went on to have two children: George and Sophia. About ten years after their marriage, Sophia Dorothea admitted to a long standing affair with Count Philip Konigsmark, a Swedish soldier. George I was furious with his wife and divorced her immediately. Poor Sophia Dorothea was then imprisoned for the remaining 32 years of her life. Although George I had had mistresses during his marriage, he took two official "companions" after his divorce. They were Melusine von der Schulenburg and Sophia von Kielmansegge, George I's half-sister. Both women were large and they earned harsh nicknames as a result. Von Kielmansegge was known as "the elephant" and von der Schulenberg was known as "the maypole" because she was slightly thinner.

Sophia Dorothea of Celle (George I's ex-wife)

Prince George, Prince of Wales, later George II of Great Britain (George I's son)

Sophia Dorothea, Queen of Prussia (George I's daughter)

By the time George I was king of Great Britain, his daughter was married and had become Queen of Prussia. His son, the Prince of Wales, had also married and was coming to reside in Great Britain with his family. When the Hanoverian royal family arrived, people shouted "Hail mighty George!" and "Thee long we wish'd." The issue was, they were shouting it at the Prince of Wales whom they had mistaken for the King. The crowd went silent when they saw the somber old man who was their actual King. Upon the family's arrival at the palace, George I was so angry about the incident that he spanked his 31 year old son. Great divisions would soon arise between the King and his son, eventually resulting in rival courts. 

Although George I was a strong willed man, he had governed Hanover as an autocracy and now had parliament to contend with. He created a fascinating court full of exotic Turks, dancers from the far east and even a feral child he kept as a pet. Nevertheless, he spent as much time in Hanover as he possible could, resenting his British life. This created backlash and many high ranking politicians sided with George's son and enemy, the Prince of Wales. In the public, George was continually scrutinized for not speaking English and the popularity of his son's court was only strengthened by the backlash.

James Stuart

One of George I's worst enemies was James Stuart, his second cousin and the half brother of Queen Anne. He headed up the Jackobite cause in France and many Catholics and Protestants alike saw him as the rightful ruler. However, James Stuart was never victorious and George I remained the unhappy ruler of Great Britain. In 1727, he died largely unmourned of stroke. His mistresses, the elephant and the maypole, were by his side. He was buried in Hanover.

George I on his coronation

Anne

Queen Anne. Portrait by Michael Dahl. 1705.

With Queen Anne the House of Stuart, who had ruled England since 1603 and Scotland since 1371, came to an end. It was during her reign that the two countries officially united as Great Britain. A woman who was content to rule as a constitutional monarch, she had a life of tragedy and triumph. Although she and her older sister were able to get her Roman Catholic father, James II, out of England, Anne failed to produce an heir. She had seventeen pregnancies with only one surviving child who preceded her in death.

"I know my own heart to be entirely English" - Queen Anne, 1702.

Anne was born at St. James Palace on February 5, 1665. Although her parents - James, Duke of York (later James II) and his first wife Anne Hyde - converted to Catholicism, Anne's uncle, Charles II, insisted that she and her elder sister Mary be brought up as Protestants.

James II and Anne Hyde. Queen Anne's parents.

In 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark. The son of Frederick III of Denmark, George was a fellow Protestant. Although he met with the approval of Anne's protestant uncle, he failed to please her Catholic parents Although Prince George proved to be a devoted husband to Anne, she increasingly relied on her close confidant, Sarah Churchill, the wife of John Churchill, the future Duke of Marlborough.

Prince George of Denmark

Sarah Churchill

It was Sarah Churchill who convinced Anne to abandon her father, James II, during the glorious revolution. Anne's sister Mary and Mary's husband, William of Orange, were planning to reclaim England for the protestants and James II, the current monarch, was a Catholic. By then, Anne Hyde was dead and James II had remarried and had another child, Anne's half-brother, James Stuart. Unlike Anne and Mary, James was raised a Catholic. Anne, Mary and William of Orange successfully deposed their father and half-brother in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. William of Orange and Mary became William III and Mary II, joint monarchs, in 1689. Later in 1701, the Act of Settlement barred Roman Catholics, like their half-brother, from coming to the throne. 

William III and Mary II

During the reign of her sister and brother-in-law, Anne desperately tried to have children with Prince George of Denmark. Out of her seventeen pregnancies, she had one surviving child. Prince William, Duke of Gloucester was adored by his mother and seemed to be the only foreseeable heir. Prince William's importance increased when Mary II died childless in 1694. After the deaths of William III and Anne, William would be King. Unfortunately the Duke of Gloucester died in 1700 at age 11, leaving Anne heartbroken.

Queen Anne and her son, the Duke of Gloucester

After William III's death in 1702, Anne became Queen of England and Scotland. Anne took being Queen very seriously attended cabinet meetings several times a week, being careful to not show political bias. The generalship of Sarah Churchill's husband, the Duke of Marlborough, gave England and Scotland several victories. Among these victories were the defeat of the French and her half-brother, James Stuart. 

After England and Scotland merged in 1707 to make Anne the first queen of Great Britain, her health began to decline. She was becoming obese and struggled with alcoholism. Anne even earned the nickname Brandy Nan for her fondness of Brandy. Pegging down a protestant heir became extremely important. Over fifty Catholic heirs were skipped over and the aging Sophia of Hanover was to be Great Britain's next queen. She was the former consort of Hanover and a great-granddaughter of King James I. Sophia's son, Georg Ludwig, was the monarch of the tiny German nation. Although Sophia was older than Anne, she became so popular at the British court that Anne sent her back to Hanover until she would return as monarch.

Sophia of Hanover

Queen Anne died on August 1, 1714 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Sophia of Hanover actually died two months prior to Anne and Sophia's son, Georg Ludwig, assumed the British throne as George I. 

Statue of Queen Anne outside of St. Paul's Cathedral in London

The Monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom

The Kingdom of Great Britain came about on May 1, 1707 with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. This came on the back of a 104 year personal union in which the two countries shared a monarch but were not officially merged.

Queen Anne

In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland was merged with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom. Since the formation of Britain, there have been 12 monarchs. This began with Anne, the last of the Scottish house of Stuart. The house of Start had ruled both England and Scotland since James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne as James I of England in 1603, following his distant cousin Elizabeth I.

King George I

In 1714, Georg Ludwig of Hanover ascended the British throne as George I of Great Britain after the death of his distant cousin, Queen Anne. This came about because a Roman Catholic was not allowed to ascend the throne, making George the next king. Over fifty potential heirs were passed over. He spoke mostly German and this started a personal union between Great Britain and the Duchy of Hanover that lasted until Queen Victoria, George's great-great-great granddaughter, ascended the throne. In Hanover, women were not allowed to ascend the throne so one of Victoria's uncles succeeded his brother.

Queen Victoria

When Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the rulinge Hanoverian family became the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. This name was changed by Victoria's grandson, George V, to the much more British sounding Windsor. 

House of Stuart

1) Anne (1707-1714) 

House of Hanover

2) George I (1714-1727)

3) George II (1727-1760)

4) George III (1760-1820)

5) George IV (1820-1830)

6) William IV (1830-1837)

7) Victoria (1837-1901)

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Windsor

8) Edward VII (1901-1910)

9) George V (1910-1936)

10) Edward VIII (1936-1936)

11) George VI (1936-1952)

12) Elizabeth II (1952-present)

The monarch of the United Kingdom still carries over the numbers designated to them from previous monarchs who ruled England and Scotland. That is why Elizabeth II is given the title of "II" even though Elizabeth I never ruled over Great Britain. In the event that a monarch assumes the throne with different numerical designations given separate English and Scottish dynasties, they would carry both. For example, if another James assumed the throne, he would be titled James III and VIII. However, he would be mainly addressed as James III. 

Throwback Thursday

Today is the 33rd Anniversary of The Duke returning from The Falklands War - 17th September, 1982. His Royal Highness was met by The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Princess Royal on-board HMS Invincible upon its return to Portsmouth!

The Woman Who Will Be Queen, A Portrait

Her Royal Highness Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge by Paul Emsley, 2012. 

This is the first official portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge, which debuted on January 11, 2013 at the National Gallery. The first ever official painting of the woman that will one day be Queen of the United Kingdom and Paul Emsley, the painter, often commented on the pressure he felt while painting the Duchess. When the painting was revealed to the public, there was mixed reception. Many believed he prematurely aged her and others thought that the eyes looked rather alarming. The Duchess of Cambridge loved the painting and referred to it as "brilliant."

Personally, I thought this was a great portrait of the Duchess. Although it was clearly modern, it has echoes of older royal portraits. The commanding stance and half-smile speak to her demeanor as a future Queen Consort.  The use of blue is ingenious and a clear echo of her famous engagement ring. The hair is the most striking portion of this painting and seems almost other worldly, like the way women were painted during the Georgian era. I like the lightness in her roots. I look at this as a sign of maturity as well as a sign of fertility. She's here to be a strong guiding force in Britain as well as being able to produce many heirs. 

Fit to Rule

I recently discovered an amazing documentary that recounts the humanity of the British royals. They tend to be viewed through a lens of leadership or as a good drama but this documentary dives in and looks at them as people with same physical and mental ailments that plague everyone.

The documentary is a three part series entitled Fit to Rule. It  recounts all the monarchs from the Tudors to Elizabeth II and addresses physical and mental issues that sometimes dominated their lives. It is also a great overviews of the monarchs who have ruled England.

The presenter is Lucy Worsley, the curator of Historic Royal Palaces. She's the best I've seen at making these documentaries about English history. When looking for a good documentary, I usually try to look for one where she is the presenter. I linked all the videos in this post. Enjoy!

Fit to Rule: Tudors to Stuarts, from Gods to Men

Fit to Rule: Tudors to Hanoverians, Bad Blood

Fit to Rule: Hanoverians to Windsors

Queen Olga?

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia

Prior to the hectic and pro-isolationist attitudes that followed World War I, the empires of Europe lived in a healthy, communicative state. This was mostly because the main powers were all related. King-Emperor George V of the United Kingdom, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Imperial Germany and Empress Alexandra of Imperial Russia were all grandchildren of the great Queen Victoria, Out of the three factions of this family, the closest, diplomatic relationship rose between George V and Alexandra's husband, Tsar Nicholas II. Both men commanded the greatest Empires in Europe and grew to be good friends. George V headed up the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Nicholas II headed up the infamous House of Romanov. Although George's power was limited, both men had tremendous sway on the international stage.

(Left) Nicholas II of Russia (Right) George V of the United Kingdom

Given that they were both powerful, pre-modern monarchs, what was the best step to a permanent diplomatic Union between Russia and the United Kingdom? Marriage, of course. Almost from the beginning, the two men had their children in contact. The Saxe-Coburg-Gotha children learned Russian while the Romanov children learned English. The most natural Anglo-Russian union was between George V's oldest: Edward, the Princes of Wales and Nicholas II's oldest: the Grand Duchess Olga. Both were around the same age and having the Queen of the United Kingdom be Russian would solidify a diplomatic tie.

Grand Duchess Olga of Russia

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales

Fortunately or unfortunately, the concept of Queen Olga quickly faded. Although Russia and the United Kingdom were allies in World War I, their diplomatic relationship ended. Anti-monarchism ran high in the U.K. and George V knew it was not the time to bring in foreigners to the throne. The British Royal family needed to be re-branded as home grown and British. This resulted in the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha being renamed the House of Windsor. The Prince of Wales was now expected to marry into the British aristocracy rather than his Russian second cousin, Olga Romanov.

After the families went their separate ways, the lives of Edward and Olga played out very differently and rather tragically. The Grand Duchess Olga and the rest of the Romanov family fell victim to the bloody Russian Revolution. In 1917, the family was imprisoned in Siberia by Bolshevik revolutionaries and eventually executed in 1918. Olga died with her family via firing squad at the age of 22.

The Prince of Wales on the other hand lived the playboy lifestyle and refused to marry. In 1936, he ascended the British throne as King Edward VIII. His reign was short lived and he abdicated to marry his American mistress, Wallis Simpson, only months after his accession. Edward and Wallis became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, living out their lives in exile in the South of France. Edward died in 1972 at the age of 77.

If the union had gone through as planned, the course of the United Kingdom and Russia may have played out differently. Edward and Olga would have most likely reigned as King and Queen for the rest of their lives, producing heirs. By doing this, we would not have the current Elizabeth II, Edward's niece. The Romanovs may have also overcame revolution with British support. Although, the British anti-monarchism may have overrun the country with a foreign Queen on the throne. What if?

The Romanov family. The Grand Duchess Olga is right, center behind her father, Tsar Nicholas II.

The four Romanov sisters during their imprisonment after the revolution. Olga is seated on the far left.

The room where the Romanovs were executed by firing squad. 

The Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (later Windsor) family. Prince Edward, Prince of Wales is second from the right.

The wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (formerly Wallis Simpson), 1937.