King George I was born on this day in 1660. As the Protestant great-grandson of King James, George Louis was the first of the Hanoverians to inherit the British crown. Unfortunately, despite his mother’s efforts, his nature was more dour and militaristic than scholastic; he never learned to speak English fluently and was therefore quite unpopular in Britain, though his Hanoverian subjects were far more devoted to him. He left his ex-wife, Sophia Dorothea, under castle arrest in Germany, so she was never queen. Their daughter, also Sophia Dorothea, became queen of Prussia, and their son, King George II, ruled Britain for 33 years (as opposed to a mere 12 years for George I).
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