When Britain got a German king

By Lucy Farmer

As we wrote in "A Year of 1914" there are countless ways in which the centenary of the first world war will be marked this year. But while the 20th century will always be remembered as a disastrous period in British-German relations, I’m looking forward to celebrating a happier time in the two countries’ histories. For this year also marks the 300th anniversary of the Hanoverian accession, when a German prince became King George I of Great Britain and Ireland and the glorious Georgian period began.

It was a crafty piece of legislation that led to this remarkable turn of events. In 1701 the Act of Settlement was passed which disqualified Catholics from inheriting the throne. This meant that the Duke of Hanover, who was a second cousin of the childless Queen Anne, beat over 50 of the queen's other blood relatives to become king. Three more King Georges and a King William followed until Queen Victoria ushered in her own eponymous age.