George I Coins
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1727. Already the ruler of Hanover, George ascended to the British throne following the death of his second cousin, Queen Anne. An unpopular King, George failed to maintain political power. Coins produced during George’s reign were Guineas.
Born in 1660, George spent his early life in Hanover, a city in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Marrying his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, he became the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1698. When his second cousin, Queen Anne died in 1714, he became King of Great Britain at the age of 54.
Though Anne had many relations closer by primogeniture the Act of Settlement (1701) prohibited Roman Catholics from inheriting the throne, as Anne’s closest protestant relative George became King. In reaction to this Jacobites attempted, unsuccessfully, to depose George.
Supposedly unable to speak English, and with rumours of greed, a string of mistresses and ill treatment of his wife circulating, George was unpopular in England for the duration of his reign. He visited his home city of Hanover several times and it was during one of these trips that George died in 1727. He was succeeded by his son George II.
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