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NARRATOR: Georgian Britain.

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Across the course
of little more than a century,

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a nation was transformed
from an inward-looking state

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that had just emerged
from a bitter civil war

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to a global superpower.

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But it wasn't English kings
who oversaw this change.

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It was German nobility,
shipped in from Hanover.

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The Georgian kings
were dysfunctional,

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detested each other

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and were loved and loathed
by the public in equal measure.

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There are satirical cartoons
<font color="

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What starts off as a private quarrel
becomes a public sensation.

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MAN: If it looks like
your dad has exiled your mum,

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that probably leads to a
certain element of...of dysfunction

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early on in life.

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NARRATOR: These are the
backstabbings, feuds and betrayals

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which shaped an entire era
of British history.

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(SLURPS)

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Britain is continually at war
in the 18th century.

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NARRATOR: The shocking stories
of the Georgian kings.

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His mother called him a monster.

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He was so besotted.

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It's almost like stalker behaviour.

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<font color="

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"Well, that's interesting.
I'm going to do it anyway."

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NARRATOR:
A time when in the monarchy,

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it was mayhem.

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A new king, with a brand-new name,

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George I,
is about to take to the throne.

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His accession
will usher in a new era,

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one which will change
British and global history forever.

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But born and brought up in Hanover,

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this is a man
who never expected to be king,

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catapulted onto the British throne by
an extraordinary sequence of events

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which neither he nor his new subjects
could have imagined.

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He doesn't get off to a good start.

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A man whose inscrutable demeanour

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hides the darkest of secrets.

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(SHOUTING)

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He struggles throughout his reign

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to win the hearts of his subjects

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and faces armed rebellion
in defence of the House of Hanover.

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To understand the upheaval
his arrival created,

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you have to go back to the beginning,

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to a time before Georg Ludwig had any
clue he would one day rule Britain.

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The eldest son of Ernst Augustus,

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Duke of Brunswick-Lueneburg,

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and his wife, Sophia,

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Georg Ludwig is born
on 28 May 1660 in Hanover...

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..a small yet influential territory
in the Holy Roman Empire.

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So the Holy Roman Empire
was very, very complicated.

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It was basically a patchwork
<font color="

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Supreme sovereignty was held
by the, um, House of Habsburg

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as...as...as emperors.

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NARRATOR: Within that empire,

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territory equals
wealth and influence,

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and Ernst is determined
his son shall marry well

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to enhance the family's position.

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The focus very much was on

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<font color="

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their own kind of prominence

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within the Holy Roman Empire.

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NARRATOR:
By the time Georg is 20 years old,

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plans are already in place

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for him to marry his cousin,

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Sophia Dorothea of Celle.

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It's part
of the Hanoverian master plan

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to unite the Hanoverian lands
<font color="

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and they devise doing that

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by marrying Sophia Dorothea
to the future George I.

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She was seen as
the perfect bride for him,

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because she was going to come
with a...a huge dowry.

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She was going to inherit
<font color="

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he was the duke of Brunswick,
and so, as a result,

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this was
a really good political match.

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NARRATOR: But the decision for Georg
to marry for land, not love,

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will have disastrous consequences

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that will reverberate
down the family line for generations.

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As first cousins,

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Georg and Sophia
have known each other for years

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but have never got on.

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So Sophia is less than enthusiastic

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about the prospect
of a dynastic marriage

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to the less than gorgeous Georg.

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I'm not going to marry
that repulsive pig snout.

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I know what type of man he is!

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He is cold, stiff and a bore.

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That brute even fathered a bastard
<font color="

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Do they want me to be
chained to a man like that forever?

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Well, do they?

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They will have to
drag me to the altar

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if they think that
I'm going to wed such a creature.

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I'm not going to marry him!

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<font color="

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NARRATOR: But despite her misgivings,
the marriage goes ahead.

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Initially, both sides
try to make a go of the arrangement.

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AMY BOYINGTON:
When they married, she was young,

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and I think she came to the, uh,
Hanoverian court, you know,

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willing to be a good wife,

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<font color="
uh, uh, embrace her role.

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It's important kind of dynastically
for it to work.

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The Hanoverians
are very, very aware of

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the need for
their future to be conserved.

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They've always got one eye on what's
<font color="

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NARRATOR: Within a year, Sophia also
fulfils HER side of the contract.

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In November 1683, she gives birth
to a son, another Georg.

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WOMAN: I think politically,

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they'd done their job.

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They had produced an heir.

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And...for Sophia,

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that was her principal role
<font color="

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NARRATOR: They may have forged
the perfect dynastic union

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and produced an heir,

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but the marriage itself
proves to be a disaster.

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Sophia Dorothea is a very, very
different person to George I.

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She loves to party.
She loves to be seen.

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She loves all of
<font color="

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And that is completely different
to George I's personality.

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NARRATOR: As
his ill-fated marriage falls apart,

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Georg's eyes alight
on Sophia's maid of honour,

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Melusine from the schools castle.

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She may be no great beauty,

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but Melusine proves to be
the love of Georg's life

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and a vital support when,
years later,

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the German aristocrat
unexpectedly becomes king of Britain.

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AMY JANE HUMPHRIES:
Melusine von der Schulenburg,

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she is very, very different
in temperament to Sophia Dorothea.

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So for George I,
she is a breath of fresh air.

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Melusine was tall, and she was very
<font color="

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and that, I think, appealed
to George I really quite strongly.

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(SHOUTING)

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NARRATOR:
Sophia Dorothea does not take kindly

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to her husband's open flaunting
of his relationship with Melusine,

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and there are frequent violent fights
between husband and wife.

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The arguments between
<font color="

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She has a real temper.

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And when he is provoked,
he does too.

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It...it's definitely not
a kiss and make up afterwards.

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NARRATOR: Increasingly alienated,

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Sophia also starts looking for love
outside of the marriage.

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She finds it in the arms
of a dashing Swedish count,

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Philipp von Koenigsmark.

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It's not like, um,

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Sophia Dorothea
was looking for an affair,

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but there was this beautiful guy,

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and he promised her to...

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..to get her out of that marriage.

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And, unfortunately,

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everyone knew about that affair.

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NARRATOR: Matters come to a head
when Georg discovers

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his wife is planning
to run away with the count.

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He was outraged,
which is, you know, surprising

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considering HE was having
open affairs all the time.

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It changes from an affair

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that's potentially
just personally embarrassing

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<font color="
the future security of the dynasty.

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And so a decision is made
by Ernst August, George I's father,

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that Koenigsmark has to go.

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(BELL TOLLS)
(WINGS FLAP)

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(BIRD HOOTS)

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NARRATOR: One night, as he's making
his way to Sophia's bedchamber,

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Koenigsmark is set upon
and strangled.

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(FIGHT SOUNDS)

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His body is later found
in the Leine River.

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Many suspect his murder
is at Georg's bequest.

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There's some evidence that he
probably made this count disappear,

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that he had him sort of...
made him...

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<font color="
in the Leine River.

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(LAUGHS)

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There's a question
as to whether, uh...

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..whether George I
is complicit in this

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or whether
this is something that is, uh...

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<font color="

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and enables the king
some plausible deniability.

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NARRATOR: But Georg's vendetta
against his wife doesn't stop there.

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In 1694, he divorces Sophia Dorothea

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and then banishes her
to the castle of Ahlden,

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where she remains
under effective house arrest

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until the end of her life.

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After George found out
<font color="

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she even wasn't allowed
to see the children anymore.

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NARRATOR:
With Sophia out of sight and mind,

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Georg can concentrate on his duties.

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By now, his father has been awarded

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the prestigious title
of prince-elector of Hanover.

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So, the Roman Empire was ruled
by an emperor.

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<font color="

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The emperor gets elected.

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And to be prince-elector,
you were able to vote

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who's the next emperor.

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So you're very powerful.

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NARRATOR:
When his father dies, in 1698,

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the title of prince-elector
is passed on to Georg.

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A peaceful and secure future
stretches ahead of him.

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Or so he thinks.

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By twist of fate,

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Georg is about to undergo

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a very different kind of ennoblement.

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(SHOUTING)

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Across the Channel, in Britain,

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the succession has been
far less clear-cut.

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The country is still recovering
from a violent civil war

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between the
Catholic-sympathising House of Stuart

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and the firmly Protestant Parliament.

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In 1688,

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Catholic King James II is deposed
and flees to France.

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The 1701 Act of Settlement is passed,

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barring Catholics
from ever becoming monarch.

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But in solving one crisis,
Parliament only creates a bigger one.

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Queen Anne is the reigning monarch.

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Though a Stuart, she is Protestant,
and Parliament is content.

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But Anne has suffered
17 miscarriages,

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and there are growing fears she
will not provide a Protestant heir

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before she dies.

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It's really difficult
for her to take,

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because it compounds the fact that

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<font color="
she's sort of failed.

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And that's really unfair,

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because it's...these are...these
are factors out of her control.

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But in terms
of securing the line of succession,

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she has been un...unsuccessful.

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NARRATOR: With Anne
unlikely to provide an heir,

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the search is on
for her nearest Protestant relative.

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00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,920
But this is easier said than done.

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All of Anne's immediate relatives
are Catholics.

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00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,480
So Parliament
needs to cast the net wider.

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In an unforeseen turn of events,

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the House of Hanover
is about to move centrestage.

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Anne's closest Protestant relative

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turns out to be living not in Britain

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00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:29,320
but across the English Channel,
in the Holy Roman Empire.

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It is Georg Ludwig's mother, Sophia,
the electress of Hanover.

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It takes...

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..passing over 50 people

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to find someone who's suitable.

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And the person who's suitable
is Sophia, the electress of Hanover,

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who is a little bit older than Anne.

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She is living in Germany.
She's never been to Britain.

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NARRATOR: Despite there being

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00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,880
many closer blood connections
to the throne,

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an unsuspecting Georg
leapfrogs over all but his mother

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00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:06,440
to become second in line
to the British throne.

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00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,360
It's quite extraordinary, really,
to think

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00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,560
that you were so far down
the line of succession,

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00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,400
you probably
<font color="

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00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,160
But for him, I think,
his priority was Hanover.

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00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,920
And so,
because this wasn't necessarily

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00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,560
something that WAS set in stone,

249
00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:26,400
he wasn't prepared to give it
much airtime in his own head.

250
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,000
(BELLS TOLL)

251
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,360
NARRATOR: But Georg's mother
never does become queen.

252
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:41,440
Your Grace.

253
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:42,440
GEORG: Yes?

254
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,240
There's been some news

255
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,040
regarding your mother.

256
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:48,800
NARRATOR: Georg's mother dies,

257
00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,120
making him first in line
to be king of Britain.

258
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,040
With Queen Anne already sickly,

259
00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,000
it is just eight weeks

260
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,560
before he is catapulted
onto the throne.

261
00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:04,680
(SEAGULLS CRY)
<font color="

262
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:11,000
A month later, Georg sets sail
across the English Channel

263
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,640
towards an uncertain future.

264
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,840
This is a man
who barely speaks any English,

265
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,560
certainly not conversationally,

266
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,080
and who has spent very little time
travelling outside of Hanover,

267
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,320
let alone to Britain itself.

268
00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,280
<font color="

269
00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,640
or the subjects
that he's going to be governing.

270
00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:37,080
And it must have appeared
an incredibly daunting time for him.

271
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,080
(BIRDSONG)

272
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:46,080
NARRATOR: On September 18, 1714,
Georg lands at Greenwich.

273
00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:48,840
(CHEERING)

274
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,080
Curious to see
their new German-born king,

275
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,040
a huge crowd has gathered
along the quayside.

276
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,360
When George I arrives in Britain,
it's one of those, um,

277
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,520
really great times where
he allows the pomp and ceremony

278
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,000
to play up around him.

279
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,440
He's not somebody who's very showy,
he's not very glamorous,

280
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,560
<font color="
around him.

281
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,680
But it would have been
a magnificent spectacle on...

282
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,720
..uh, from Greenwich up the Thames.

283
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,960
NARRATOR:
The crowd is particularly intrigued

284
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,760
by the striking figures
of the king's two female companions,

285
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,040
neither of whom
appears to be the queen.

286
00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,360
He does bring with him two women
<font color="

287
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,080
One is his mistress,
Melusine von derschulenburg,

288
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,960
and then the other one is his
half-sister, Sophia von Kielmansegg.

289
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,320
And they are instantly sort of

290
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,760
the...the objects of fascination
for the British people, because...

291
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,360
<font color="
that they are both his mistresses,

292
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,760
and they formed a very curious
kind of coterie around the king

293
00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,360
that not everyone could understand.

294
00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,800
NARRATOR: Georg's unusual companions
may set tongues wagging,

295
00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,640
but the Protestant establishment
cares little

296
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,600
about his amorous arrangements.

297
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,800
All that matters to Parliament

298
00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,040
is that the new king already has
suitable, Protestant, heirs lined up

299
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:10,960
to succeed him -

300
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,760
his son, Georg,

301
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,600
and his grandson, Frederick.

302
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,360
He already has a son who is married

303
00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,960
and who is busy having
his own children at this point.

304
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,280
They are
a ready-made package, and...

305
00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:30,160
..as such, they are moved together
<font color="

306
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,120
..a new and hopeful dynastic line.

307
00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,640
NARRATOR: On October 20,

308
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,360
Georg is crowned king
at Westminster Abbey.

309
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,600
The Abbey is packed
with the great and the good.

310
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,080
When he is crowned king,

311
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,120
at the ceremony,
everyone present is delighted,

312
00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,960
because to them,
<font color="

313
00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:01,760
a Protestant king who is securing
their land, their money,

314
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,480
their positions and their power.

315
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:08,000
George I is a strategic necessity
for Britain.

316
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,480
The key thing
is that he is a Protestant

317
00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,480
<font color="

318
00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,960
uh, the Protestant succession.

319
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,560
(SHOUTING)

320
00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,720
NARRATOR: But out on the streets,
and across the country,

321
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,920
it is now a very different story.

322
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:24,920
MADELEINE PELLING: There's rioting.

323
00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,200
There's shouts of "No Hanover!"

324
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,880
There's graffiti that says
"No foreigners."

325
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:32,120
<font color="

326
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,720
the villagers
even dressed their maypole in black,

327
00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,440
as though in mourning, for the
old Catholic way of doing things,

328
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,920
um, to...

329
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,440
..absolutely not welcome in
the new king.

330
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:44,800
(SHOUTING)

331
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:50,320
<font color="
as a foreigner,

332
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,920
as someone that doesn't necessarily
understand English customs.

333
00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:56,840
WOMAN:
English is not his first language.

334
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,440
Is he gonna be here very much?

335
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:00,440
Does he even like England?

336
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,160
<font color="
are sort of...

337
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,880
..disturbed by the sudden change.

338
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,040
NARRATOR: Georg's origins in Hanover
are the object of much derision.

339
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,120
As soon as George arrives,
he's nicknamed the Turnip King.

340
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:23,760
People in the street put turnips
on sticks and parade them around.

341
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,880
<font color="
not something affectionate.

342
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:31,560
This is a way of, uh,
identifying him as

343
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,680
coming from a provincial backwater,

344
00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,360
as being no better than a farmer.

345
00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:40,720
Turnips were
not British, uh, native vegetables.

346
00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:41,880
<font color="

347
00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,360
And it's a way
of kind of identifying him,

348
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,520
uh, and mocking him.

349
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:48,320
(SHOUTING)

350
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:53,400
NARRATOR: The rioting continues for
several days after the coronation.

351
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,360
This isn't an isolated incident
and the complaints of a few people.

352
00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,480
<font color="
of the nation,

353
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,680
that the ordinary men and women
of Britain

354
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,840
do not accept this king
as their ruler.

355
00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,280
NARRATOR: It's not the welcome
the king has been hoping for.

356
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,560
They hate me. They all hate me.

357
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:18,080
(SIGHS) Your Grace.

358
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:20,600
<font color="

359
00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:21,600
They don't hate you.

360
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,520
They admire you. They respect you.

361
00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,400
They were booing me.

362
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,640
Your Grace.
You call that respect?

363
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,440
You tell me that I misheard them,

364
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:33,480
that they were cheering me?

365
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,320
(SCOFFS) Spare me!

366
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:39,080
<font color="

367
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,480
NARRATOR: Georg is acutely aware

368
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,800
of the need to shift
the popular perception of him

369
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,320
as a foreign pretender
to the British throne.

370
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:50,040
Following the coronation,

371
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:57,600
Georg Ludwig begins to sign his name
George Rex, a more British moniker.

372
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,080
But he's going to need
far more than a new signature

373
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:05,080
to win over
a fractious and divided kingdom.

374
00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,160
I think any observer
would be delusional

375
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,240
<font color="
that this is the end of the story,

376
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,640
that it's gonna be easy.

377
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:17,560
It's by no means...

378
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,680
..certain
that he's gonna be around for long.

379
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:21,920
(SHOUTING)

380
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:26,080
NARRATOR: Horrified
by the ferocity of the protests,

381
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,400
George takes solace in
the arms of his mistress, Melusine,

382
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,600
still his closest confidante.

383
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:37,040
But people are poking fun at HER too.

384
00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:39,000
GEORGE I:
You know what they're calling you?

385
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,960
(SCOFFS) Something nice, I hope.

386
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:43,280
The maypole.

387
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,000
The what?

388
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,120
(LAUGHS)

389
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,520
On account of your nubile figure.

390
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,520
(LAUGHS)
<font color="

391
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:54,520
You should.

392
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,160
Maypoles are tall and slender,
sturdy.

393
00:21:58,160 --> 00:21:59,160
Oh. Oh!

394
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,440
Your charm
leaves much to be desired.

395
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,880
Good job that I am King, then.
(SIGHS)

396
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,800
You are a fool, my love.

397
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:12,680
<font color="

398
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:13,800
(KISSES HAND)

399
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,640
NARRATOR: Whilst the public
is uncertain about their NEW king,

400
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,760
one group is violently opposed
to George's accession -

401
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:28,640
the Jacobites,

402
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:33,360
a group of dissenters who oppose
the Protestant line of succession.

403
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,720
They believe James II

404
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,600
should never have been exiled

405
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,920
and that the true heir to the throne
is his Catholic son,

406
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,080
the self-styled James III.

407
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,240
In Britain, there is
<font color="

408
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:51,800
for the Jacobite cause,

409
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,880
for putting the Stuarts
back on the throne.

410
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:56,960
This support comes from,

411
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,840
uh, a large Catholic community,

412
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,560
um, because, of course,
James II himself was a Catholic,

413
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:04,560
<font color="
particularly in Scotland,

414
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,520
in the Highlands of Scotland.

415
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,960
NARRATOR: By October 1715,

416
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,080
a 20,000-strong army,
led by the earl of Mar,

417
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:17,720
has taken control
of most of Highland Scotland

418
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,000
and is advancing south
across the border.

419
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,920
Just one year
after George's coronation,

420
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,160
the fledgling House of Hanover
is looking precarious.

421
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,240
In late December,
James sets sail from France

422
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:38,840
and lands in Scotland,

423
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:43,840
to stake his claim
as the rightful ruler of Britain.

424
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:48,240
But the Jacobite advance stalls.

425
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,120
They had been hoping
that James would bring

426
00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:53,960
further military support with him
from France,

427
00:23:53,960 --> 00:24:00,200
but the would-be king arrives alone
and morale quickly evaporates.

428
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,040
I'm not sure Mar
was the best military commander.

429
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,480
Erm, twice,
he retreated at the wrong moment,

430
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,800
<font color="

431
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,520
and that's how the governmental, uh,
forces managed to push them back up,

432
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,520
erm, in Scotland toward Perth.

433
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,120
NARRATOR:
By late January, the rising collapses

434
00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:25,400
and James beats a hasty retreat
back to France.

435
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,760
The Jacobite threat
has been extinguished,

436
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,040
but it remains a ticking time bomb.

437
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,560
<font color="
Hanoverians, and it reminded them...

438
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,800
Which I think was probably
what the Jacobites wanted.

439
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,360
..it reminded them
that they were vulnerable,

440
00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:45,720
and, actually, this was
a throne that was contentious

441
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,680
<font color="
that they'd hadn't consolidated

442
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,200
and they didn't have
a really firm hold on,

443
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,840
and so I think that had
a real impact on what they did next

444
00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,680
in their attempts
to sort of make themselves

445
00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,960
more secure on the throne.

446
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:05,400
NARRATOR: Acutely aware that his
reign may end as quickly as it began,

447
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,040
George embarks
on a much-needed PR campaign.

448
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,480
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

449
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:18,080
And nothing quite says "Like me"
more than throwing a massive party.

450
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,440
In July 1717,

451
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,880
George hosts a lavish spectacle
on the River Thames.

452
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:33,280
Surrounded by a flotilla of boats and
watched by thousands of onlookers,

453
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:37,840
he sets off upriver
on the royal barge.

454
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,040
He understands that this is not just
<font color="

455
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,720
but something
that's really, really important

456
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,840
in terms of him presenting himself
as a monarch

457
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,000
and presenting himself
as a convincing monarch,

458
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,800
with all of
the kind of trappings of royalty.

459
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,160
<font color="

460
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,040
NARRATOR: On one of the barges,

461
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,920
an orchestra plays the
specially commissioned Water Music,

462
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,840
conducted by the composer himself,

463
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:09,720
naturally a German,
George Frideric Handel.

464
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,520
The atmosphere for
this amazing concert was electric.

465
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,760
Essentially, everybody in London
pooled out onto the streets.

466
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,320
<font color="
along the banks

467
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,040
and just watching this amazing
concert going on before their eyes.

468
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:27,880
It was free for them, of course.

469
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,840
And this really did, um,
an amazing job

470
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,560
at trying to make the king
more relatable.

471
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:34,880
<font color="
like, if you like music...

472
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,000
..everybody likes music,
and here he was,

473
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,320
putting on this amazing performance,
for everyone.

474
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,120
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

475
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:47,000
For most people in that audience,
this is an incredible moment.

476
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,320
<font color="
of atmosphere and spectacle,

477
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,080
the like of which
has not been seen in London.

478
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:58,880
And it's really a flagship moment,
erm, for George.

479
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:03,400
It offers a sense of hope
and possibility and optimism

480
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,800
<font color="

481
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,600
(OPERATIC SINGING)

482
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,160
NARRATOR: George also knows
that it's his Protestant faith

483
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,200
and string of heirs-in-waiting

484
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,640
that are the strongest cards
in his hand.

485
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,520
Where he actively makes attempts

486
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,280
to create an image for himself,

487
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:24,760
it is as this kind of

488
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,800
Protestant warrior king,

489
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,080
<font color="
the military defender of the faith.

490
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,320
I think that's really...
that's really, really significant.

491
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:34,960
NARRATOR: To promote that image,

492
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,440
George commissions
a huge mural of the Royal Family

493
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,120
to adorn the new Painted Hall

494
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:44,160
at the Royal Hospital for Seamen
in Greenwich.

495
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,520
By now, George's son,
the future George II,

496
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,920
has been joined in England
by his wife, Caroline,

497
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,080
and their four young children.

498
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,320
You have this wonderful image
of the Hanoverian succession

499
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,800
on the far wall, and...

500
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,280
..they are presenting themselves
as a continuation of the monarchy,

501
00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,000
of the British line of succession,

502
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,040
and it's sort of writ large
<font color="

503
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,640
NARRATOR: The pomp and the paintings
have been successful moves

504
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,160
in George's campaign
for rehabilitation.

505
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:25,160
But then the king's hands-on attempt
to shore up the British economy

506
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,400
by involving himself
in a new business venture

507
00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:31,840
proves to be a total disaster.

508
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,560
The idea is
Britain can start to concentrate

509
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,360
on more significant things,

510
00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:40,400
<font color="
as thinking about the ways in which

511
00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,800
it can bolster and encourage, uh,
commercial trade,

512
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,000
the way in which
London starts to develop as a...

513
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,360
..as a cultural and commercial hub.

514
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:56,240
NARRATOR: In 1720, the
heavily indebted British government

515
00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,400
brokers a deal with
a newly created financial enterprise

516
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,080
called the South Sea Company.

517
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,040
In return for having the monopoly

518
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,760
over the trading of slaves
and luxury goods to the Americas,

519
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,680
the company agrees
to pay off those debts.

520
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:14,680
(INAUDIBLE)

521
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,680
South Sea Company
having the monopoly on trade,

522
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,240
it means, then,
that they are able to dominate

523
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,600
<font color="
of Brazil in particular,

524
00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:30,080
but also along
the South American coastline,

525
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,080
with new markets opening up,
as gold, for example,

526
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,800
then sugar is being discovered,

527
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:37,840
but also the supply of slaves

528
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,600
<font color="
across West Africa.

529
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,440
So being able
to dominate that market

530
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,240
means multiple profits at both ends.

531
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,800
(SHOUTING)

532
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,320
NARRATOR: So sure is the
South Sea Company of its own success,

533
00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:57,200
it guarantees those who buy shares
a 6% return.

534
00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,480
The public clamours to take part

535
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:04,760
in this government-backed
get-rich-quick scheme.

536
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,760
The market goes wild. Everybody
wants some shares in this company.

537
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,640
It's gonna be

538
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:11,640
like winning the lottery.

539
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,480
You've got to get these shares.

540
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,200
NARRATOR:
Thinking it will improve his image,

541
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:21,040
George is readily persuaded
to become governor of the company.

542
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,800
The royal endorsement sends
the price of shares through the roof.

543
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,440
<font color="

544
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,360
to think that kings would be
so directly involved

545
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:31,680
in the mercantile industry,

546
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,800
but they are
from the time of Elizabeth I

547
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,640
investors
in these expansionist enterprises.

548
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,680
NARRATOR:
Between March and August 1720,

549
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,000
the price of South Sea stock
rises tenfold,

550
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,320
to an eye-watering £1,050 a share,

551
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:54,280
around £60,000 in today's money.

552
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,840
But this is an enterprise
built on sand.

553
00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,640
The South Sea Bubble
is about to burst

554
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,760
as spectacularly as it has risen.

555
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,160
The South Sea Company
doesn't actually really make
that much money,

556
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,120
which creates the problem,

557
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,360
<font color="
all of this debt

558
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,640
and turning it into stock,
that is creating this bubble,

559
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,160
but the pop happens because there's
no substance to this bubble at all.

560
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,280
And the minute
that it becomes apparent

561
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,040
<font color="
long-lasting,

562
00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,120
as they thought it was gonna be,

563
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:31,920
people begin to sell up, and
then the price drops dramatically.

564
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,840
NARRATOR:
The value of stocks collapses by 80%,

565
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:42,000
plunging the country
into a catastrophic financial crisis.

566
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,920
Thousands are bankrupted,

567
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,560
and there is widespread anger
across the country.

568
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:51,360
<font color="

569
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,480
..even in pubs,
they would have playing cards

570
00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:57,160
representing
the South Sea Bubble crisis.

571
00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,400
And there were games invented, like,

572
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,920
"I'll give you two of
MY playing cards for one of yours"

573
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,880
<font color="
South-Sea-Bubble-crisis-themed.

574
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,880
You know, even people who couldn't
read and who were just in a tavern

575
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,760
would be aware
of what was happening.

576
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,600
NARRATOR: In the aftermath
of the crash, it becomes apparent

577
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:17,800
that vast bribes have been paid

578
00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,720
to keep the share price
artificially inflated.

579
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:27,840
George and his mistress, Melusine,
are heavily implicated.

580
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,920
Chief among the people
that are given stock

581
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,560
is Melusine von der Schulenburg,

582
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,400
and she, obviously,
as George's mistress,

583
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,120
puts him
in a very difficult position.

584
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,280
He has stock. She does.

585
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,960
<font color="
it puts the king and the monarchy

586
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:45,320
in a really, really
difficult position,

587
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:47,840
and it's embarrassing for the Crown.

588
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,440
NARRATOR: As fortunes are lost,

589
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:55,640
George's reputation
falls to an all-time low.

590
00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,560
If you take the kind of...all the
good PR stuff that George I does,

591
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:02,600
<font color="

592
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,240
which is largely...
very much out of his control,

593
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:10,040
has a huge negative impact
on the way the monarchy is seen,

594
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,000
and this sense
that it's a corrupt institution

595
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,080
has the potential to
<font color="

596
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,200
NARRATOR: But dislike for George
isn't limited to his subjects.

597
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,880
The king's personal life
is equally full of turmoil,

598
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,680
a legacy from the events
that took place in Hanover

599
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:36,040
long before George had even set foot
on British soil.

600
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,680
George's brutal treatment
of his exiled wife, Sophia,

601
00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,880
is traumatising
for their young son, George,

602
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,800
later to be George II.

603
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,600
Young George
was the apple of his mother's eye,

604
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,720
and he adored her in return,

605
00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,520
which is why
their enforced separation

606
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,840
creates an intense dislike
of his father.

607
00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,280
If it looks like
your dad has exiled your mum

608
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:11,080
and probably
had your mum's lover murdered,

609
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,800
that probably leads to a certain
element of...of dysfunction

610
00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,320
early on in life.

611
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,920
<font color="
the sort of starting point for...

612
00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,640
..for George II's upbringing.

613
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,240
NARRATOR: The loathing
between the two Georges intensifies

614
00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:33,720
when George I becomes king.

615
00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:38,080
The resentment
that George I has towards his son

616
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,520
comes out of the fact that
in Britain, after the succession,

617
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:46,880
<font color="
is much more popular than George I.

618
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,720
There is very much
a temperamental difference,

619
00:34:49,720 --> 00:34:53,440
George II being really showy
and really gregarious and outgoing

620
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,160
and George I being
a little bit sort of more retiring.

621
00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,400
NARRATOR: The fraught relationship
comes to a head

622
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:01,600
when the king starts interfering

623
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,480
in his son
the prince of Wales's affairs.

624
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:09,480
The first real break,
and visible break,

625
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,600
between the future George II
and his father, George I,

626
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,280
happens at the...the christening of

627
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,800
George Prince of Wales's
<font color="

628
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,680
George I is very anxious that
one of the godparents

629
00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:24,480
should be the duke of Newcastle.

630
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,800
The duke of Newcastle is the kind of
grand old man of British politics,

631
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,080
a figure who has been
around the block a fair few times,

632
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,720
<font color="
is that level of sort of stability.

633
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:38,520
It's a targeted political decision,

634
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,640
designed to signal certain messages.

635
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:47,000
NARRATOR: But the prince is furious
at his father's meddling.

636
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,800
How dare you pick him
to be my child's godfather?

637
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,080
He is a good choice!

638
00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,480
<font color="
haven't you?

639
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,360
You know I can't stand that man.

640
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:02,360
I have done this for the country,

641
00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:04,720
for our legacy.

642
00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:09,280
If we are to protect the line
of succession, we must assimilate!

643
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,120
Pull yourself together!

644
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:15,760
NARRATOR: As sovereign,

645
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:20,080
the king's wishes
inevitably trump those of his son.

646
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,560
And during the christening service,

647
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,800
a fierce quarrel breaks out
between the prince of Wales

648
00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:29,760
and his child's new godfather,
the duke.

649
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,440
After a heated argument,
the duke alleges

650
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,360
that Prince George
has challenged him to a duel,

651
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,560
a terrible affront.

652
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:44,480
When King George hears the rumour,
he is furious with his son.

653
00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:49,880
The prince of Wales claims the duke
misheard an entirely innocent remark,

654
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:53,160
but the king is having none of it.

655
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,560
<font color="
going to apologise to my friend,

656
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,640
"I am banishing you
from the palace, from court,"

657
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,120
which was a huge deal.

658
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,040
George I, I think, thinks if
he gets rid of the prince of Wales,

659
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,000
then the prince of Wales
<font color="

660
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:12,160
and ask for his forgiveness,
and it will bring him back to heel.

661
00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,760
NARRATOR:
When the prince refuses to apologise,

662
00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:19,440
the king takes drastic action,

663
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,000
banishing his son and daughter-in-law
from the court

664
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,760
while insisting
their three young children

665
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,800
stay behind in St James's Palace.

666
00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:34,455
Tensions between father and son
escalate to stratospheric levels.

667
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:39,120
With his family AND his country
turned against him,

668
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,320
George begins to spend
more and more time

669
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:47,440
in the other place he not only rules
but considers his true home -

670
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,520
Hanover
and the palace of Herrenhausen.

671
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,120
We say he moved to England, but...

672
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:57,240
..his heart belonged to Hanover.

673
00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:00,000
That's the reason
why he always came back to Hanover.

674
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,120
<font color="

675
00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:06,960
but also just an opportunity
for him to recharge his batteries,

676
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,360
which I think is really important,
because...

677
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,840
..ruling Britain in the 18th century
is not easy either.

678
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:18,280
NARRATOR:
Being in Hanover also enables him

679
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:23,800
to keep an eye on political affairs
playing out in the electorate.

680
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,960
But splitting his time
between Hanover and Britain

681
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,960
does nothing to improve
George's relationship

682
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:34,960
with either
his British or German subjects.

683
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:39,000
He still saw himself
very much as a...as a German prince.

684
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:40,800
From his perspective
the centre of power lay,

685
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:43,720
it was on the Holy...
<font color="

686
00:38:43,720 --> 00:38:45,520
And so I think he had to
keep an eye on this, you know,

687
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:47,640
to see how things were going.

688
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:48,960
So he was
between a rock and a hard place,

689
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,840
where he has to try and appease

690
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,000
two different groups of subjects
<font color="

691
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:58,040
..kind of draws on his time.

692
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,760
George I didn't find
that balancing act very natural.

693
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:06,640
NARRATOR: As George struggles
to balance his roles

694
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:10,120
as both king of Britain
and elector of Hanover,

695
00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,680
a bizarre twist of fate
presents him with the opportunity

696
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:16,800
to enhance his battered reputation.

697
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,560
In 1726, a feral young boy

698
00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:25,280
is discovered in a forest
just a few miles from the palace.

699
00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:29,080
He was no older
than 10, 11, 12, that kind of age,

700
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,160
and he was unable to speak.

701
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:35,640
He was...completely wild
and apparently orphaned.

702
00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:38,840
NARRATOR:
On hearing of the discovery,

703
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,800
George orders the foundling
to be brought before him.

704
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:44,880
Is this him?

705
00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:50,080
<font color="

706
00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:52,560
Oh.

707
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:54,680
I asked you a question.
Tell me your name.

708
00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:56,520
(BOY GROWLS)

709
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:02,840
NARRATOR:
Captivated by his strange behaviour,

710
00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:05,440
George makes him
a member of the royal court

711
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,720
and brings him back to London,

712
00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:11,360
where he becomes known
as Peter the Wild.

713
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:19,280
Peter's arrival at the palace
causes a sensation.

714
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,440
<font color="
He was considered an oddity

715
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:28,280
but also, like, this...

716
00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:30,920
..almost like
a circus, um, sort of performer,

717
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,840
because he didn't understand
etiquette, of course.

718
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:39,560
He was unable to relate to people
in any shape or fashion.

719
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,400
<font color="

720
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,600
an older tradition in Europe of...

721
00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:48,320
..jesters,

722
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:49,400
figures of entertainment.

723
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,440
On the other hand,
he is absolutely central

724
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:54,720
to these Enlightenment questions

725
00:40:54,720 --> 00:40:57,480
that are beginning to emerge
in this period

726
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:01,320
<font color="
nature, what it means to be human.

727
00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:04,040
(INAUDIBLE)

728
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:05,360
NARRATOR: Whilst Peter the Wild

729
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,600
initially increases
George I's popularity,

730
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:15,040
soon, everyone tires of the novelty
of his exotic human pet.

731
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:18,840
Peter is eventually dismissed
and sent to live on a farm,

732
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:22,680
whilst George
is back to square one again.

733
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,000
The heavy burden
of ruling two different states

734
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,560
and constantly having to fight
for the public's affections

735
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,920
are taking their toll on the king.

736
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:40,120
In 1727, while travelling back
once more to his beloved Hanover,

737
00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:43,760
King George I
suffers a massive stroke.

738
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:52,440
His ever-loyal mistress, Melusine,
who has been travelling separately,

739
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:55,080
rushes to be by his side.

740
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:57,320
My darling, I'm here!

741
00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:58,680
I'm here! (PANTS)

742
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:00,680
MAN: I'm afraid he's gone.

743
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:03,720
Gone?

744
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:07,800
<font color="

745
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:12,760
Leave us!

746
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:15,320
(SOBS)

747
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(SNIFFS)

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NARRATOR: At the time of his death,

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George has been 13 years
on the British throne.

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Against all odds,
he's managed to hold onto the Crown

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and pass it to his heir,

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even if only to the son
he loathes so much.

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AMY BOYINGTON: His reign
was not considered that successful,

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<font color="
I think people were...

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..not necessarily relieved but they
didn't mourn him too...too long.

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You could almost view
George I's reign

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as sort of
a transition period between

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a really difficult period
<font color="

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and a really kind of shaky start
to a new dynasty.

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The legacy that...
that George leaves behind is...

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..one of stability.

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He himself isn't
a particularly popular monarch.

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He's certainly
<font color="

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But he instils in Britain

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not only a sense of optimism
and the future that's to come

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but he actually
leaves the nation a...

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..functioning, if slightly
dysfunctional, Royal Family.

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<font color="
and by the time of his death, erm,

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things had calmed down considerably.

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The succession shows, actually,

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just how successful
George I had been

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in those 13 years of his reign,

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that there is a...

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<font color="

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incredibly smooth transition
to the reign of his son.