Pillar Nr. 2: The "Personal Union" between Great Britain and Hannover

Only Protestants could wear the crown of England, but Queen Anne (1665-1714) had no heirs to succeed her on the throne. A search began therefore on the: Electress Sophie (1630-1714), as a granddaughter of King James I of England and Scotland (1566-1625), was entitled.

Yet the electress died in 1714, a few weeks before Queen Anne, so that instead her son, Elector Georg Ludwig (1660-1727), established the rulership of the House of Braunschweig-Lüneburg ("Hanover") in Britain as George I. A characteristic of the Hanoverian-British personal union was that both countries continued to be ruled separately. Only at the very top, the ruler was the same person: elector of the German Empire and king of the aspiring world power Great Britain in one.

Find out more at pillar Nr. 2!