George II of Great Britain
George II was the last British monarch to lead an army in the field and the last to be born outside the country. Born in Hanover in 1683, he arrived in England at thirty with his father in 1714, spoke English with a heavy accent, and hated the older man thoroughly — the two quarrelled so publicly that the prince was expelled from the palace in 1717 and his household became the opposition's headquarters. He succeeded in 1727 and intended to dismiss Walpole immediately; his wife Caroline of Ansbach, who was cleverer than either of them, persuaded him otherwise, and Walpole governed for another fifteen years. Caroline acted as regent whenever he visited Hanover, which was often. He fought at Dettingen in 1743 against the French, at sixty, when his horse bolted and he continued on foot with his sword drawn. The Jacobite rising of 1745 got as far as Derby, and Culloden the following April ended the dynastic question permanently. The reign's substance was the Seven Years' War and the ministry of the elder Pitt, whom the king detested and appointed because nobody else could run the war. The year 1759 brought Quebec, Minden, Lagos and Quiberon Bay, and left Britain with Canada, India and command of the sea. He quarrelled with his own son Frederick as bitterly as with his father, and Frederick died first. He died on the lavatory in 1760 and was succeeded by his grandson. He is also the reason the national anthem exists in its present form, since it was first performed publicly during the 1745 crisis, and the reason for the custom of standing during the Hallelujah chorus, which he is said to have started and probably did not.
- Lived: 1683 CE – 1760 CE
- Nationality: British
- Roles: king, elector, military_leader
