George I of Great Britain

George I was the first monarch of the House of Hanover, and ruled as King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death in 1727. He was also the ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698. George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover, Germany, the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and Sophia of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of King James I of England. George married his cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle in 1682, but they had an unhappy marriage and he divorced her in 1694 after she had an affair with a Swedish count. George imprisoned her in a castle for the rest of her life and never remarried. George became the heir to the British throne in 1701 by the Act of Settlement, which excluded all Catholics from succession. He was also the closest Protestant relative of Queen Anne, who died childless in 1714. George faced opposition from some Tories who supported the Catholic claimant James Francis Edward Stuart, known as the Old Pretender. George's accession triggered a Jacobite rebellion in Scotland in 1715, which was defeated by his forces. George was more interested in his German possessions than in Britain, and he spent about one fifth of his reign in Hanover. He spoke little English and relied on his ministers to govern. He appointed Sir Robert Walpole as his first minister in 1721, who is regarded as the first British prime minister. George supported Walpole's policies of avoiding war, reducing taxes, and maintaining stability. He also presided over the South Sea Bubble crisis in 1720, when a speculative scheme involving public debt collapsed and caused a financial panic. George had a strained relationship with his son and heir George II, who opposed his father's policies and favored the Tories. George also had several mistresses, most notably Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, who was created Duchess of Kendal and Munster. George died on 11 June 1727 while travelling to Hanover. He was buried in Leine Palace, but his remains were later moved to Herrenhausen after World War II.