30. George I

The Kings and Queens podcast

Author Simon Jenkins described the Georgian kings not as monarchs but as princelings, who came to power not by the sword or politics but merely descent from a distant protestant mistress. They were mostly bewigged, powdered non-entities who couldn’t even control their own children, nor say boo to a goose.

The first, George I (1714-27), faced a perilous threat from the moment he stepped on British shores, the shadow of the Jacobites was widening. The foreigner would need to heavily rely upon his new British statesmen to ensure the House of Hanover would survive.

Characters

George I – King of Great Britain (1702-27), Elector of Hanover (1698-27)
Sophia Dorothea of Celle – wife of George I (1682-94)
Ernest Augustus – Elector of Hanover (1692-98), duke of Brunswick-Luneberg (1679-98), father of George I
Sophia of the Palatinate – Electress consort of Hanover, former heir apparent to the British throne, mother of George I
Prince George Augustus – son of George I

Count Christoph von Konigsmarck – lover of Sophia Dorothea
Melusine von der Schulenberg – mistress of George I
Sophia von Kielmansegg – half-sister and companion of George I
Mustapha and Mahomet – Turkish servants of George I
Peter the wild boy – feral child brought to the court of George I

Robert Walpole – British statesman, first de facto Prime Minister of Great Britain
Charles Townshend – British statesman and ally of Robert Walpole
James Stanhope – British statesman and chief minister (1717-21)
Charles Spencer – British statesman and ally of Earl Stanhope
Horace Walpole – son of Robert Walpole
Duke of Shrewsbury – chief minister and Whig (1714)
John Younger – dean of Salisbury

James Stuart ‘the Old Pretender’ – chief Jacobite claimant to the British throne
James Butler, duke of Ormonde – Commander-in-chief of the British forces, supporter of the Jacobite rebellion (1715)
John Churchill, duke of Marlborough – commander-in-chief of the British forces
Henry St. John – leader of the Tories and supporter of the Jacobite rebellion (1715)
John Erskine, earl of Mar – leader of the Jacobite rebellion (1715)
John Campbell, duke of Argyll – senior commander of the British army during the Jacobite rebellion (1715)

George Frideric Handel – Baroque composer

Louis XIV – King of France (1643-1715)
Louis XV – King of France (1715-74), great-grandson of Louis XIV
Philippe II, Duke of Orleans – regent of France under Louis XV
Giulio Alberoni – Spanish cardinal and statesman
Philip V – King of Spain (1700-46)

William III – King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1689-1702)
Anne – Queen of Great Britain (1702-14)
James II of England and VII of Scotland – King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1685-88)
James I of England and VI of Scotland - King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1603-25)

Simon Jenkins – historian
Lord Chesterfield – contemporary statesman and writer

Credits

Suite in D major – The Water Music – George Frideric Handel
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