35 Facts About George I of Great Britain

George I of Great Britain was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover.

Jacobites attempted, but failed, to depose George I of Great Britain and replace him with James Francis Edward Stuart, Anne's Catholic half-brother.

George I of Great Britain died of a stroke on a journey to his native Hanover, where he was buried.

George I of Great Britain is the most recent British monarch to be buried outside the United Kingdom.

George I of Great Britain's surviving uncle, George I of Great Britain William of Celle, had married his mistress in order to legitimise his only daughter, Sophia Dorothea, but looked unlikely to have any further children.

In 1682, George I of Great Britain married Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the daughter of his uncle George I of Great Britain William, thereby securing additional incomes that would have been outside Salic laws.

George I of Great Britain was eventually won over by the advantages inherent in the marriage.

George I of Great Britain's prospects were now better than ever as the sole heir to his father's electorate and his uncle's duchy.

George I of Great Britain was denied access to her children and father, forbidden to remarry and only allowed to walk unaccompanied within the mansion courtyard.

George I of Great Britain was endowed with an income, establishment, and servants, and allowed to ride in a carriage outside her castle under supervision.

Melusine von der Schulenburg acted as George I of Great Britain's hostess openly from 1698 until his death, and they had three daughters together, born in 1692,1693 and 1701.

George I of Great Britain thus became Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg as well as Archbannerbearer and a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire.

However, it was George I of Great Britain who understood the complexities of English politics and constitutional law, which required further acts in 1705 to naturalise Sophia and her heirs as English subjects, and to detail arrangements for the transfer of power through a Regency Council.

George I of Great Britain's tenure was not altogether successful, partly because he was deceived by his ally, the Duke of Marlborough, into a diversionary attack, and partly because Emperor Joseph I appropriated the funds necessary for George's campaign for his own use.

George I of Great Britain did not hold Marlborough's actions against him; he understood they were part of a plan to lure French forces away from the main attack.

In 1709, George I of Great Britain resigned as field marshal, never to go on active service again.

In 1710, George announced that he would succeed in Britain by hereditary right, as the right had been removed from the Stuarts, and he retained it.

George I of Great Britain had collapsed in the gardens at Herrenhausen after rushing to shelter from a shower of rain.

George I of Great Britain swiftly revised the membership of the Regency Council that would take power after Anne's death, as it was known that Anne's health was failing and politicians in Britain were jostling for power.

The list of regents was opened, the members sworn in, and George was proclaimed King of Great Britain and King of Ireland.

George I of Great Britain's coronation was accompanied by rioting in over twenty towns in England.

In total, George I of Great Britain spent about one fifth of his reign as king in Germany.

George I of Great Britain was active in directing British foreign policy during his early reign.

George I of Great Britain introduced a Peerage Bill that attempted to limit the size of the House of Lords by restricting new creations.

Claims that George I of Great Britain had received free stock as a bribe are not supported by evidence; indeed receipts in the Royal Archives show that he paid for his subscriptions and that he lost money in the crash.

Unlike his predecessor, Queen Anne, George I of Great Britain rarely attended meetings of the cabinet; most of his communications were in private, and he only exercised substantial influence with respect to British foreign policy.

Walpole was actually afraid of being removed from office towards the end of George I's reign, but such fears were put to an end when George died during his sixth trip to his native Hanover since his accession as king.

George I was buried in the chapel of Leine Palace in Hanover, but his remains were moved to the chapel at Herrenhausen Gardens after World War II.

However, Walpole commanded a substantial majority in Parliament and George II had little choice but to retain him or risk ministerial instability.

George I of Great Britain was ridiculed by his British subjects; some of his contemporaries, such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, thought him unintelligent on the grounds that he was wooden in public.

George I of Great Britain certainly spoke fluent German and French, good Latin, and some Italian and Dutch.

European and British sources agree that George I of Great Britain was reserved, temperate and financially prudent; he disliked being in the public light at social events, avoided the royal box at the opera and often travelled incognito to the homes of friends to play cards.

George I of Great Britain was more than fifty years of age when he came amongst us: we took him because we wanted him, because he served our turn; we laughed at his uncouth German ways, and sneered at him.

George I of Great Britain had little difficulty in communicating with his ministers in French, and his interest in all matters affecting both foreign policy and the court was profound.

Yet the character of George I remains elusive; he was in turn genial and affectionate in private letters to his daughter, and then dull and awkward in public.