George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover from 1727 until 1760. Born in Hanover, he combined British kingship with extensive German dynastic interests and maintained a difficult relationship with both his father George I and his own heir.

His reign included the Jacobite rising of 1745, major European wars and the expansion of British imperial power. He was the last British monarch to lead an army in battle, while ministers such as Robert Walpole and the elder Pitt increasingly shaped parliamentary government.

In Laura Purcell’s Mistress of the Court, Henrietta's position becomes increasingly precarious as friendship, dependence and royal desire become impossible to separate. Around them, the accession of George I brings the Hanoverians to Britain and intensifies the feud between the new king and his son. For broader historical treatment of George II of Great Britain, see Andrew C. Thompson and David Carpenter’s George II and Norman Davies’ George II (Penguin Monarchs).