Western History 115: How did the House of Hanover come to power in Britain?

William III died in 1702 and was succeeded by Anne who was the daughter of James II. Unlike her father Anne was a strong supporter of the Anglican church (The Act of Settlement in 1701 required all English monarchs to be Protestants).  She would reign as Queen of England, Scotland and Wales from 1702 with Ireland added to the realm in 1707. Anne’s reign was defined by two key events  - the War of the Spanish Succession (through which England acquired control of Gibraltar)  as well as the the Act of Union  (which took effect on the 1^st of May 1707). This formally unified  the monarchs of England and Scotland.

Queen Anne (1702-1714) The Last Stuart Monarch source historic-uk.com

The two party political system of Tory v Whig became more significant during her reign. The Tories represented landed interest and support for the Anglican church while the Whigs stood in opposition and were aligned to commercial and dissenting Protestant factions. The former are seen as the ancestor of Britain’s conservative tradition while the latter represents the early voice of liberalism.

Anne passed away in 1714 leaving no suitable successor (she had many children but none of them were deemed fit enough). As a result there was a succession crisis in 1714 that was resolved by importing her second cousin, George the prince-elector of the German House of Hanover. He would become the first British Hanoverian  monarch and rule as George I.

George I (1714-1727). First British monarch from the House of Hanover.  source: royal.uk

George's reign was not a popular one and he was challenged by Jaccobite opponents who favoured he restoration of the House of Stuart to the throne. To top it all off he struggled with the English language and it was during his reign that the prestige of the monarchy declined.

In hindsight though this proved to be a blessing in disguise. George who had ruled an absolute monarch in Hanover was forced to consult Parliament in Britain and in doing so relied heavily on the very capable Whig Sir Robert Walpole. Walpole is widely regarded as the First Prime Minister of Britain. This delegation of administrative power to a civilian politician was an important milestone in the history of British democracy. Walpole's term in office lasted from 1721 to 1742.

Sir Robert Walpole source: HISTORIC UK

However he had his challenges. The British economy had been  badly damaged by the South Sea Bubble Financial collapse of 1720 and required much healing.  He was a very competent figure and rose to the occasion.. Walpole secured Hanoverian succession after the death of George I,  kept taxes lower and increased exports. The working relationship between Crown and Parliament, all too often a sticking point in British politics, was strengthened and he left the nation in a stronger position than it was on the onset of his term.