Fateful Day: August 12

The queen is dead; long live the king: On August 12, 1714, Queen Anne of Great Britain died without leaving any biological heirs. For the first time, George I, an Elector of Hanover, was proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland, thereby ruling in personal union over two independent states: Hanover and Great Britain.

Historical background

© Lower Saxony State Museum Hanover

But how did this come about? Following fundamental disagreements, the Church of England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. From then on, the head of the Church of England was no longer the Pope, but the king. A king of the Catholic faith would have meant a potential return to Catholicism and thus to the papal Church. To secure the Protestant line of succession and exclude all Catholic pretenders to the throne from the House of Stuart from the British line of succession, the so-called “Act of Settlement” was passed in 1701.

Electoress Sophie of Hanover

After Queen Anne’s last son died in 1700, the “Act of Settlement” was solemnly presented in 1701 to the next Protestant relative, Electress Sophie of Hanover, who thus suddenly rose from 55th place in the English line of succession to second place. However, Sophie did not live to see her accession to the throne. She died at the age of 84 on June 8, 1714, while taking a walk in the Herrenhausen Gardens.

Start of the dual role

Her son, Elector George Louis of Hanover, now became the heir to the British throne. A few weeks later, on August 12, 1714, Queen Anne of Great Britain died, whereupon the Council of Regency in London proclaimed George Louis as George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland.

The magnificent document known as the “Act of Settlement,” along with other valuable exhibits from the era of the personal union, is on display at the Lower Saxony State Exhibition “Hanover’s Rulers on the English Throne, 1714–1837” through October 5, 2014, at five castles and museums in Hanover and Celle.

(Published on August 11, 2014)