About 300 years ago, on August 1, 1714 — the English Queen Anne died. As a result, the German Elector George Louis of Hanover was proclaimed king of Great Britain in absentia. He was the only possible heir to the throne and the first German to ascend an English throne.
Manners, please
At the beginning, his British subjects were not amused. The German king did not set foot on English soil until two months after his proclamation and was crowned King George I on October 20, 1714. A divorcee, he publicly flirted with two mistresses. It was claimed that George hardly spoke any English — though some historians dispute this, suspecting it was a ploy in some ministerial meetings — and he had no manners. In fact, legend has it a protocol instruction for banquets asked to not hurl pieces of meat at the servants.
However, the British soon realized that George I did a great deal for the kingdom. By focusing on peace, stability, and prosperity for his two states — Great Britain and Hanover — he contributed to establishing “a new European balance of power that ended decades of war,” according to Encyclopedia Virginia.
George II and George III
His son George II left the British their national anthem, “God Save The King,” which later became “God Save The Queen.”
His grandson George III was the first in the line of German kings to be born in England, with English being his first language. He…
