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GEORGE I

George I (George Louis) was King of Great Britain and Ireland and elector of Hanover. He was born in 1660 and died in 1727. He reigned from 1714 until his death in 1727. As Sophia, Electress of Hanover, had died two months before Queen Anne, Sophia's eldest son George, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne under the Act of Settlement despite their being some fifty Roman Catholic relatives with stronger claims. His claim to the throne was challenged by James Stuart, the Roman Catholic son of James II, who landed in Scotland in 1715, following a rising of Scottish clans on his behalf; this was unsuccessful and he soon withdrew. George I spoke German and French and a little English; he regularly visited Hanover to fulfil his duties there. Family tensions, including the imprisonment of his wife in 1694, and political intrigue led to differences and intense dislike between George I and his son, George. In 1719 and 1720, and during most of the King' s absences in Hanover, power was delegated to a Regency Council and not to his son the Prince of Wales. Unfamiliar with the customs of the country and lacking fluent English, George I was dependent on his ministers - the Whigs dominated Parliament during his reign. After 1717, George rarely attended Cabinet meetings and this allowed the Cabinet to act collectively and formulate policies, which, provided they were backed by a majority in the Commons, the king was usually powerless to resist. After the South Sea Bubble crisis of 1720, Robert Walpole took over.

George I, (King of the Hellenes) was king of Greece. He was born in 1845 at Copenhagen and died in 1913 when he was assassinated at Salonika. The second son of the king of Denmark - Kristian IX, in 1863 he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly. In 1867 he married the Princess Olga, a niece of the Russian czar. His conduct as a constitutional monarch was always correct and regular, and he won the popular sympathies by the efforts he has made on behalf of the expansion of Greek nationality.
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