Kings and queens of the Georgian period

In 1714, George Ludwig, Elector of Hanover was crowned as George I, the new King of England. The Georgian period had begun.

George I established a line of monarchs who ruled for the next 116 years, overseeing the transformation of Britain into an imperial power and an industrial nation.

Each king had individual strengths and weaknesses as men. As rulers, they all shared a dysfunctional Georgian family trait of loathing their fathers.

• George I (r1714-27), shy and socially awkward, frequently absent in his beloved native Hanover.
• George II (r1727-60), fond of uniforms and military exploits; loved routine.
• George III (r1760-1820), a complex King, was nicknamed ‘Farmer George’. He lived with debilitating mental illness.
• George IV (r1820-30, regent since 1811), extravagant with a king-sized appetite.

Images: Georges I, II, III and IV (details) Royal Collection Trust / © HM Queen Elizabeth II 2017.

When was the Georgian period​?

The Georgian period stretched from 1714, when George I took the throne, to 1830 on the death of George IV. A direct succession to the throne continues to this day.

In 1714 Great Britain acquired a new king, Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, who was transformed into King George I. 

Britain’s previous monarch Queen Anne (1702-14) died without an heir. George did not have the closest blood ties to his distant Stuart cousins, but more importantly, he was Protestant.

Parliament had decreed that the monarch could only be Anglican, so 57 Catholic claimants were passed over to offer Georg Ludwig the British crown.

George I, 'King Log'

George I was not thrilled to be King, and among his subjects and courtiers the feeling was mutual. When he arrived in Britain, the cheers quickly turned to jeers and he was variously insulted as ‘corpulent oaf’, King Log and most bizarrely, a turnip!

The King’s frequent and prolonged trips home to Hanover didn’t go down well, either. At court, George angered members of English aristocracy by granting his loyal Turkish servants, Mehmet and Mustapha, the top jobs.

The King had divorced his German wife Sophia Dorothea for adultery in 1694, so he had no queen to rule alongside him. Instead, he brought his half-sister, Sophia Charlotte and his mistress, Melusine.

What type of king was George I?

George I was reluctant, but willing to delegate. The King’s trust in his government allowed men like Robert Walpole, his first minister, to run the country very well.

George I's reign saw the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the first stock market crash. Yet the King’s common sense and the good judgment of those around him helped the country weather these storms.

George I died in 1727 from a stroke, supposedly brought on by an excess of strawberries, on his way to Hanover.

George I's palace connections

Hampton Court Palace

George I employed the architect Vanbrugh to make a series of improvements at Hampton Court Palace. These included the creation of rooms for the Prince of Wales, later George II, and the Princess of Wales.

The King also converted the Great Hall into a theatre and built a new Georgian Kitchen and laundry at the palace in 1717. Today this is known as the Georgian House.

Kensington Palace

The King frequently resided at Kensington Palace as well. He had the core of the old palace rebuilt to create an impressive series of state rooms, decorated in flamboyant style by rising star architect William Kent.

The fabulous wall and ceiling paintings can still be seen today. They include the King’s Staircase, which features members of George I’s court.

George II, brave but boorish

George II was praised for his courage and vigour – he was the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle.

Out of uniform, however, George was dull and self-important, and quick to anger. On occasion, he would tear off his wig and kick it around the room!

At heart, the King was probably deeply insecure. While still a young boy growing up in Hanover, his mother, Sophia, was locked away for committing adultery. He never saw her again.

As a man, George found refuge in an obsession with facts and figures. The King would spend long hours describing obscure details of military uniforms and battles to long-suffering courtiers.

According to one account, George II even had his underwear numbered according to days of the week!

By contrast, his wife Queen Caroline (and his longest-serving mistress Henrietta Howard) were among the most accomplished and intellectual women in Europe.

The enlightened Queen Caroline

Queen Consort to George II

Caroline of Ansbach (r1727-37) was brought up at the sophisticated, highly-cultured courts of Berlin and Dresden.

As Queen Caroline, she invited writers, philosophers and scientists to her intellectual salons at Kensington Palace. She also brought much-needed glamour and liveliness to court.

George II and Caroline were very different, but they had a successful marriage, with a bond of trust between them.

Caroline acted as regent on several occasions while George was in Hanover. Caroline also played a pivotal role in court politics.

Apart from her dreadful relationship with her eldest son Frederick, she ensured that her family were nurtured and well educated.

Forward-thinking Queen Caroline also had all the royal children inoculated against smallpox.

Despite often criticising Caroline, George II was heartbroken when she died. He swore never to marry again.

George II, Queen Caroline and Frederick

The key to understanding the Georgian royal family is that eldest sons loathed their powerful fathers, and were loathed in return.

The relationship between George II and Caroline, and their eldest son Frederick was particularly bad. The King and Queen openly preferred their second son William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland.

William Augustus, spoiled as a child, grew up to be a monstrously cruel military commander.

George II and Queen Caroline's palace connections

Hampton Court Palace

George II and Queen Caroline used Hampton Court Place frequently after their accession in 1727. They often used it during the summer when the palace was alive with bickering, scheming and flirting courtiers.

Despite loathing George I, George and Caroline enjoyed the luxurious apartments he built for them. 

Kensington Palace

For the first 10 years of George and Caroline's reign, Kensington Palace was a glittering centre of court life, where courtiers, politicians and rising stars vied for favour. With the help of the gardener Charles Bridgeman and designer William Kent, Caroline also transformed the gardens at Kensington with the formal gardens swept away in favour of a more ‘natural’ look.

After Caroline’s death in 1737, court life slowed down. The fashionable crowd departed, leaving ageing courtiers enduring endless evenings of sedate card games, which the King still enjoyed.

Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-51)

Frederick was the eldest son of George II and Queen Caroline, and father of the future George III. He was brought up in Hanover until the age of 21. Poor Fred was loathed by his parents, and his younger sisters and brothers, who were born in England. The feeling was mutual.

Frederick suspected his parents were making sneaky plans to give the throne to their second, favoured son, William Augustus.

The strained relationship came to a head in 1737 when Frederick’s wife, Princess Augusta, went into labour in the middle of the night at Hampton Court. The whole family had gathered to witness the birth.

To spite his parents, Frederick bundled the queen into a carriage to drive the 16 bumpy miles to London. His excuse? That St James’s Palace was the ‘traditional’ birthplace of English monarchs.

Frederick at Kew

Frederick and Augusta were then ‘banished’ to Kew Palace, where Frederick built the Royal Kitchens around 1730. The clever and talented Princess Augusta established the great garden of Kew.

Frederick died suddenly in 1751, aged 44. His death was caused by a burst abscess in his chest, possibly from a blow from a tennis or cricket ball. His son, Prince George became heir to the throne.

George III, cultured and well-intentioned

George III was a cultured, well-intentioned king. Sadly, George's mental illness cast a huge shadow over his later life, and that of his family.

The King had many interests, including agriculture, the arts and sciences, music and manufacturing.

However, he was also over-controlling, reluctant to let his children or the countries under his rule develop independently. This caused problems with his sons and daughters and contributed to Britain losing the 13 North American colonies in 1783.

Queen Charlotte

Queen Consort to George III

Queen Charlotte, queen consort to George III, was clever, steadfast and loyal. She and George had a happy life together and produced 15 children, including the future George IV.

They enjoyed many happy summers at Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte's Cottage before the King became ill. 

George III in decline

George III suffered his first bout of mental illness in 1788. He recovered, but suffered increasingly severe episodes in 1801 and 1804. 

George and Charlotte's son, the future George IV, was installed as Prince Regent in 1811. The King was moved to isolation in Windsor Castle.

George III and Queen Charlotte's Palace Connections

Kew Palace

George III detested Kensington Palace, which reminded him of his great-grandfather George I. His preferred palaces included Kew Palace, where the royal family spent many happy summers. However, the King’s affection for the palace was overshadowed by his incarceration there during his periods of illness in 1788, 1801 and 1804.

The King paid regular visits to the separate building known as the Royal Kitchens. Here he took medicinal baths in a side room; the bath we think he used can be seen in the Royal Kitchens today.

As Prince of Wales, George was lodged at Kew by his parents Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta. The little palace was known as the Schoolhouse, as Prince George and his younger brother Edward were formally educated there. It was, however, luxuriously furnished for the use of the two young princes.

One of Prince George's most influential tutors was architect William Chambers, who built the Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens in 1762, one of George’s favourite buildings.

The extravagant George IV

George IV was spoiled and profligate -- his coronation banquet alone cost £25,000 (when a family could survive on £30 a year).

George had to wait a long time to come to power. He was attractive and promising at first, but by the time destiny finally called, he had grown old, lazy and rotten.

George IV's messy romantic life resulted in huge complications. Under pressure to produce a legitimate heir, he wed his cousin Caroline of Brunswick. The couple soon parted, but not before the union had produced an heir, Princess Charlotte.

Sadly Princess Charlotte died in 1817 after being delivered of a stillborn son, robbing the country of two generations of heirs at a stroke. Her father was so upset that he was ill in bed for weeks afterwards.

In later life, George tried to disguise his expanding girth by pulling in his gut with a belt, and buttoning himself into tight-fitting uniform jackets.

He also hid his several double chins with a ‘large, black neckcloth, and then swelling out his shoulders and the upper part of his person with tags and embroidery...’, topped off with lots of medals, and a wig!

The end of the Georgian period

The death of George IV

Inevitably, George IV’s over-indulgence caused him health problems, made worse by his liking for drink. This caused gout, hardening of the arteries and eventually the tumours that probably killed him. Towards the end of his life, George IV was taking vast quantities of laudanum and opium to relieve the pain.

George IV died on 26 June 1830. Feeling the end was near, he asked that the curtains around his bed be drawn back so that he could see the approaching dawn. He whispered to his doctor, ‘My dear boy, so this is death’. 

And so the Georgian period ended.