English Kingdoms

George I

Born in 1660 
Ascended in 1714 
Died in 1727, aged 67 
Reigned for 13 years
Married to Sophia Dorothea (Princess of Celle), bearing 1 son and 1 daughter. 

George I succeeded Queen Anne in 1714 and was instated as King of England when the politicians eventually decided that the German house of Hanover provided an answer to the succession crisis. This King, second cousin to Anne, was disinterested in British affairs and preferred to spend more time in Hanover. He didn't even speak English, but the Whig government was Protestant and the pretender James Stuart - Anne's half brother - was Catholic and would not renounce his religion even in name only. Later, he fiercely contested this decision and there were minor wars in northern England before he fled into exile, in France, in 1716.

The king left the affairs of England in the hands of his government and so for the first time the country had a Prime Minister as head of state - Sir Robert Walpole. He steadily increased government powers until he left office in 1742 under the reign of George III

George I disliked his wife Sophia Dorothea and soon divorced her in 1694 after only two years. Sophia had had an affair with Count Konigsmarck who was killed when the couple was discovered. Sophia was kept in the castle of Ahlden until she died in 1726 while the King flaunted his mistresses in England.