George II of Great Britain: Encyclopedia II - George II of Great Britain - Early reign

George II of Great Britain - Early reign

George II succeeded to the throne at the time of his father's death on June 11, 1727, but a battle of wills continued with his son and heir, The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales. George II may have planned to exile his son to the British colonies, but, in any event, did not actually do so. George was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 4 October. The Hanoverian composer George Frideric Handel was commissioned to write four new anthems for the coronation; one of them, Zadok the Priest, has been sung at every coronation since.

It was widely believed that George would dismiss Sir Robert Walpole, who had distressed him by joining his father's government. It was widely believed that Walpole would be replaced by Sir Spencer Compton; George requested Compton—not Walpole—to write his first speech for him. Compton, however, requested Walpole for aid in the task, leading George's wife, Queen Caroline, an ardent supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, to claim that he was incompetent. George did not behave obstinately; instead, he agreed with his wife and retained Sir Robert Walpole as Prime Minister. Walpole slowly gained the royal favour, securing a generous civil list of £800,000 for the King.

He also persuaded many Tory politicians to accept the succession laid down in the Act of Settlement as valid. In turn, George II helped Sir Robert Walpole gain a strong parliamentary majority by creating peers (who sat in the House of Lords) sympathetic to the Whigs.

Whilst Queen Caroline was still alive, Sir Robert Walpole's position was secure. He was the master of domestic policy, and he still exerted some control over George II's foreign policy. Whilst George was eager for war in Europe, Walpole was more cautious. Thus, in 1729, he encouraged George II to sign a peace treaty with Spain.

George's relationship with the Prince of Wales worsened during the 1730s. When the Prince of Wales married Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, an open quarrel broke out; George II banished him and his family from the royal court in 1737. After losing his son, George also lost his wife, who died on November 20, 1737. When she reputedly asked George II to remarry, he said "Non, j'aurai des maitresses!" (French for "No, I will have mistresses!"). George had already had (1736) an illegitimate son, Johann Ludwig, Graf von Wallmoden-Gimborn. In 1734 he founded the Georg August University of Göttingen.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Early reign", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki