After the death of Britain's last monarch, Queen Anne, in 1714, the crown of England passed to the Stuart dynasty's German Protestant cousins, the House of Hanover or Brunswick-Lüneburg, because of the 1701 Act of Settlement that prevented any Catholic from taking the crown. The direct heir to the British throne was James II 's son James, who lived in exile, but for the reason that he professed Catholicism, Queen Anne declared Sophia of Hanover, who was the Electress of Hanover, as her successor to the crown. Firstly, she was a Protestant and secondly, she was the daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress of Palatinate(briefly Queen of Bohemia) and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Actually, Sophia had died a few weeks before the death of Anne herself, so the throne went to Sophia's son named George.
It should be mentioned that British people themselves didn't like King George I. Moreover, for a long time it was believed that the king didn't know how to speak English. However, some historical books say that the monarch could speak English fluently, as well as write in this language.
The British also disliked George I's political advisers and suspected the betrayal of British interests for the aims of Hanover. This accusation was constantly put forward against the monarch himself and his habit of leaving Britain for a long time, and being in Hanover, largely contributed to the growth of distrust of him from the British.
On 21st November 1682, George married Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle. The couple had two children: George II of Great Britain and Sophia Dorothea, Queen in Prussia. After the birth of their children, the couple separated. In 1694, Sophia Dorothea was sent to the Castle of Ahlden in her native Celle, where she stayed until she died more than thirty years later. In December 1694, the marriage between the Crown Prince and Sophia Dorothea was dissolved. Despite the fact that Sophia lost her title of princess, she was endowed with an income and servants.
As the British didn't like the German King, they wanted the deposed James II's son to return to Britain as James III. James desired the English throne but he didn't want to change his religion, so in 1715 he started a rebellion against George I. But the rebellion was cruelly suppressed and the Whigs heavily defeated the Tories in parliamentary elections in 1715, undermining the still indestructible authority of the Tories who sympathised with James.
Towards the end of his life, King George I became interested in the idea of creating a triple alliance of Great Britain, France and Netherlands. Increasingly, he visited his native Germany, which was closer to his heart than Great Britain. On 11th June 1727, he died on his way to Hanover, leaving the throne to his son George II.
Interesting fact: The first four British kings from the House of Hanover were named George, that's why this time went down in history as the Georgian era.
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