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1716, December -

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Drury Lane Theatre, London.

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(ORCHESTRA PLAYS)

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The future George II...
(GASPING)

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..narrowly escapes an assassination
attempt on his life.

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(MAN SHOUTS)

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While his coolness under pressure
earns him widespread admiration...

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(CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS)
..this was a bright moment

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in a life overshadowed by
family rifts and hatred.

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George's lifelong conflict
with his father

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tarnished his whole life,

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in time, poisoning his relationship
with his own son

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and threatening
the entire Hanoverian succession.

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But to understand
the trials and tribulations

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of George II's reign,

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you have to go back
to the very start.

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Born in Hanover in 1683

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to George Ludwig
and his wife Sophia Dorothea,

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young George was always aware

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he would one day govern
the Electorate of Hanover,

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part of the Holy Roman Empire.

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But at this point
neither he nor his father knew that

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one day, they would be
kings of Britain.

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Young George was the product
of a deeply unhappy marriage.

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He would have been more than aware

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of his parents extreme,
and often physical conflicts.

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George's father was unfaithful.

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But when his mother threatened
to abscond with her lover,

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George's father had her exiled
in a distant castle.

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This enforced separation means that,
from the age of 11,

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George grows up
effectively motherless.

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The absence of his mother,

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and the way in which
she was removed from his life,

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I don't think George II ever really
forgave his father for that.

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MAN: George was very much
a mummy's boy,

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in the sense that he nurtures

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<font color="

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He holds a kind of candle
for this memory

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of a sort of idealised mother figure

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against the kind of...
the brutal reality of his father.

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George's relationship

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with his controlling,
emotionally-distant father

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never recovers

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from the deep scars left by
this massive childhood trauma.

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Having suffered the fallout of
his parents' catastrophic marriage,

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George is acutely aware of

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the importance of finding
a compatible wife -

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not only someone with whom
he might have a happy life,

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but a woman up to the role
of the title she would inherit.

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He was interested, for his own sake,

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to choose someone that
HE wanted to live with -

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<font color="
unusual for the time,

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because most of
these kinds of royal marriages

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were very, very much organised
by the parents.

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And George seems to have had much
more freedom of movement in that way

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<font color="

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Having surveyed
the dynastic marriage market,

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cultured Caroline of Ansbach
emerges as the front runner.

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There were several reasons
to choose Caroline,

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because she was not only
a beautiful woman,

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but she was very well educated.

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She was a smart person.

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Despite Caroline's accomplishments,

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George is determined she will be
marrying him for love, not status.

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To see if they are truly compatible,

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he arrives in Triesdorf in Ansbach

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in a not entirely convincing
disguise,

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calling himself Monsieur de Busch.

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Quite beautiful, no?

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Very.

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Have we met?
Monsieur de Busch.

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Oh. I don't remember
<font color="

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I probably went unnoticed.

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I had only a small retinue.

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A humble entrance for a humble man.

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Now that, Monsieur de Busch,
I do not believe.

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Well, believe me when I say

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you may not remember me arriving,

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<font color="
when I leave.

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There's a definite performative
element to this, that he is...

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It's a little bit flirty,
it's a little bit playful.

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You know, he's performing
his interest in her.

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<font color="
than he is

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and he's not as much into philosophy
as she is,

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but the two of them clicked.

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The love-struck pair marry
just a few months later.

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It's a lovely thought, to think that

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George II actually fell in love
with his wife

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<font color="

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Once married,
and living in Hanover,

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George's priorities shift
to another equally pressing concern -

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his lust for military glory.

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As a future Elector of Hanover,

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George is keen to prove himself
on the battlefield.

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One of the things
we need to bear in mind,

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in terms of 18th-century
court culture

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<font color="
kind of military service.

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Being able to demonstrate
martial prowess

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is a source of honour, of prestige.

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They need to demonstrate that
they're good military leaders

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that defend their subjects.

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But his father does not approve.

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<font color="

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This is outrageous.

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I am a grown man, and yet you
treat me like some petulant child.

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Then maybe you should
stop acting like one.

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I want to do this,

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for the good of our country.

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<font color="

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and you can go thirsting for glory
in whatever war you like.

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Fortunately for George,

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he doesn't have to wait long
for his passport to freedom.

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In 1707,
two years after they're married,

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Caroline gives birth to
their first son, Frederick.

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A year later,

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the War of Spanish Succession
breaks out across Europe,

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and, with his father's request
for an heir fulfilled,

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this provides George
with the perfect opportunity

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to prove his military mettle.

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On July the 11th, 1708,

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he leads the Allied cavalry
into battle at Oudenaarde.

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(EXPLOSIONS, SHOUTING)

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In the fierce fighting
which follows,

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he narrowly escapes death.

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He miraculously survives

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what is quite a brutal
and bloody battle.

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His horse is actually
<font color="

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It's a really pivotal moment,
that he's almost wiped out.

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There's, you know,
a very, um, thin line

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between survival and death
in this battle.

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And he manages to stay
<font color="

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Reports of
the young soldier's heroism

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filter across to Britain.

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Though it will be another six years

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before George's father accedes
to the British throne,

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young George's popularity

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sows the seeds for a bitter rivalry
between father and son.

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Georgia's victory in battle

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is not only the thing that catapults
<font color="

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but it also sows a seed
in the relationship with his father,

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the older George.

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And there's a tension
that starts to brew there.

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In 1714,

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following the death of Britain's last
Stuart monarch, Queen Anne,

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George's father accedes
to the throne,

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making George and Caroline
Prince and Princess of Wales.

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The couple join him
in moving to Britain.

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On October the 20th,

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George's father is crowned
George I of Great Britain.

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But the establishment
of the House of Hanover

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does nothing to bring
the prince and his father together.

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In fact, their fractious relationship

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soon erupts into overt
and very public hostility.

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From the very start,
the Prince and Princess of Wales

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<font color="
as British -

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almost in antithesis to George I,

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who was seen as incredibly German.

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And, as a result, they had this
sort of butting of heads,

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because the Prince and Princess
of Wales

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<font color="
and more of the opposition.

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Unlike his shy,
socially-awkward father,

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the prince and his wife love
being in the public spotlight.

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Much to the king's irritation,

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the prince quickly becomes
the toast of London.

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They dine in public. They have
balls. They have a wonderful time.

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<font color="
to the British people.

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A bizarre incident on an outing
to the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane,

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provides the Prince
with an unlikely PR coup.

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Oh, this is boring.

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Shh. Stop it, George.

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During the performance,
a crazed man bursts into the theatre.

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He comes in
<font color="

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(CROWD GASPS, SCREAMS)

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One of the guns go off.

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And the bullet whizzes into the box
and goes over his shoulder.

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Unperturbed,
George remains in his seat

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while the would-be assassin
is apprehended.

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(APPLAUSE)

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The rapturous reports of
the prince's bravery

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only served to stoke
his father's sense of insecurity.

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The king is determined to
assert authority over his son.

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So when, soon after,
Prince George and Princess Caroline

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give birth to their second son
in 1717,

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the king insists on
choosing the godfather himself.

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His choice -
his close political ally,

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the Duke of Newcastle.

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George II is kind of
furious about it

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'cause he hates
<font color="

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And they have a massive falling out,

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and it all kind of goes south
from there.

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After the ceremony,

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a heated quarrel breaks out
between the Duke and the prince.

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(INDISTINCT)
I can't remember!

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Even though George said to him,
<font color="

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Newcastle misheard him.

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He thought that George,
Prince of Wales,

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was challenging him to a duel.

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George claims his thick German accent

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has led to an innocent comment
being misheard,

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but his father refuses to accept
his son's side of the story.

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Firing off an angry letter,

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he banishes the prince
from St James's Palace.

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Caroline leaves with him,

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but the King delivers the killer blow

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by demanding the couple's children
remain behind in the palace.

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DR PELLING: Banishment
from the palace

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doesn't necessarily mean
banishment from the kingdom.

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You know, they're not riding off
on horses at midnight.

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<font color="
they are denied access to the king,

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to their own children,
who are the royal grandchildren,

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who are kept on display
in the royal court.

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When it comes to family,

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the decisions of the king
are absolute.

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Prince of Wales feels that he should
<font color="

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00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,880
but basically, at law,
it's proven to him

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that the King actually
controls his grandchildren,

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and the children are effectively
HIS to deal with.

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Forced into exile,

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George and Caroline set up home
in Leicester House.

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<font color="
this forced separation

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between George and Caroline
and their children

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cuts them really deeply.

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It causes serious trauma,
essentially.

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And when they do, when they
manage to see their children,

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<font color="

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because it's just
so overwhelming to her.

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It proves to be a separation
that has tragic consequences.

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When the new baby George
falls gravely ill,

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George and Caroline are
finally permitted to see their son.

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But it's too late.

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He dies at three months old.

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(SOPRANO SINGS OPERA)

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Overcome with grief and anger,

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Prince George's relationship
with his father

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hits an all-time low.

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I think the crucial moment,

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in terms of that flip between

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when son becomes
more popular than father

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is when the son is able to exert
independent political patronage.

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So, in the case of
George I and George II,

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<font color="
from the court of Saint James

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and sets up a new household
at Leicester House.

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Because what you then have
is a physical space

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where opposition and debate
and discussion can take place.

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00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,160
<font color="
under your dad's roof either,

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00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:58,760
which I think is really significant.

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00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,920
But Parliament is growing tired of

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00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,920
having to deal with
a feuding king and his heir.

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00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,120
Prime Minister Robert Walpole

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00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,440
encourages the king
to reconcile with his son

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for the sake of the nation.

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Reluctantly,
the two Georges apologise.

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00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,840
However, in 1726,

254
00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,720
Sophia Dorothea dies, still in exile.

255
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,720
It has been 32 years

256
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,560
since George was last able to see
his beloved mother.

257
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,920
Beneath the surface, Prince George's
bitterness towards his father

258
00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,480
has continued to fester
until the very end.

259
00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,320
Your Grace? (CONTINUES KNOCKING)

260
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:52,560
What is it that's so important?

261
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,840
My apologies, Your Grace.
It's your father.

262
00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,120
Spit it out, Walpole!

263
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,320
<font color="

264
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:05,560
Well, it took him long enough.

265
00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,240
Did you have to wake me up for this?

266
00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:12,040
My apologies, Your Grace.

267
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,240
Walpole.

268
00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,160
My mother.

269
00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,120
I want her portraits
back up on the walls.

270
00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,240
With the death of his father,

271
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,640
George is finally free
to carve out a future of his own.

272
00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,120
On October the 11th, 1727,

273
00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,240
George and Caroline are crowned

274
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,720
King and Queen
of Great Britain and Ireland.

275
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,320
(CHOIR SINGS
HANDEL'S ZADOK THE PRIEST)

276
00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,560
With Handel's Zadok The Priest
ringing out across Westminster Abbey,

277
00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,320
it's a moment of triumph for George.

278
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,680
Specially composed for the occasion,

279
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,560
the anthem will be performed at

280
00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,400
the coronation of every
British monarch from then on.

281
00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,480
<font color="

282
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,960


283
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,600
But the family scars remain,

284
00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,440
and history is about to
repeat itself now,

285
00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,160
with George II
and his son, Prince Frederick.

286
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,960
When George II first
came to Britain with his father,

287
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:41,680
he and Caroline were made to

288
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,960
leave their firstborn son,
Frederick, behind.

289
00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,520
At the Palace of Herrenhausen
in Hanover,

290
00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,320
aged just seven,

291
00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:55,280
he remained as a representative
of the electorate.

292
00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:00,040
It would be another 14 years
before he'd see his parents again.

293
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,360
Frederick is left behind in Hanover

294
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,560
because, again,
it is important to have a male heir

295
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,360
to shore up any questions
around dynastic succession

296
00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:12,240
in a European context.

297
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:18,800
So Frederick is left as the kind of
<font color="

298
00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:22,160
for over a decade.

299
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:27,480
The prolonged separation
has devastating consequences

300
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,760
on Frederick's relationship
with his parents.

301
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,120
Frederick doesn't really
have a place, emotionally,

302
00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:37,720
within the family.

303
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:39,560
Although he's made Prince of Wales,

304
00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,920
<font color="

305
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,800
because it sort of disturbs the
family image that they had created.

306
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,760
You know, they grew distant,
of course, he didn't see them.

307
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,400
He felt abandoned.

308
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,320
And, as a result,
that sort of set the tone

309
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,520
<font color="
came to Britain for the first time.

310
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,160
(LOUD CHATTER AND LAUGHTER)

311
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,600
Increasingly resentful of
his absent parents,

312
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,520
Frederick racks up
more than £100,000 of debt

313
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,200
in Hanover's gentlemen's clubs
and gambling dens.

314
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,120
Following his father's coronation,

315
00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,080
Frederick, now aged 21,

316
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,040
is summoned to England
to become the new Prince of Wales.

317
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,440
But it's not exactly
a joyous family reunion.

318
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,680
<font color="
and he wanted to have fun.

319
00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:37,440
So he annoyed his parents by
gambling, drinking, whoring around,

320
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,480
to the point that
his mother called him a monster.

321
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:45,640
And they were deeply, deeply divided
about everything.

322
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,280
<font color="
Hanoverian fashion,

323
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,440
we've got a dysfunctional
relationship between father and son

324
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,480
at this point in time.

325
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,520
HUMPHRIES: Everything that
George II did to his father,

326
00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,040
Frederick would go on and do to him,
<font color="

327
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,800
So Frederick understood that
he needed to court popular opinion.

328
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,680
He loved to be seen
in St James's Park.

329
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,040
He loved to be seen
amongst the masses

330
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,760
and show himself to be
a man of the people.

331
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,440
<font color="
history repeating itself.

332
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,760
Prince Frederik, at his home,

333
00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,840
would entertain members
of the opposition,

334
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,360
very much showing

335
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:29,960
his political allegiance was not
aligned with his father, George II.

336
00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,800
While Frederick is now purposefully
annoying his parents,

337
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,680
and, at the same time, courting
favour with the British public,

338
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:49,160
his father is spending
more and more time back in Hanover.

339
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:59,560
Hanover had been his inheritance,
in a sense.

340
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,800
Hanover gives him a place
where he can, in a sense, perhaps,

341
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,080
maybe be more relaxed, in a way,
than he is in England.

342
00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,000
<font color="
like a summer palace for him.

343
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,680
But Hanover
has other attractions too.

344
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,920
While Caroline remains
a close political confidant

345
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:26,520
throughout his reign,

346
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,680
this doesn't stop George
taking a succession of mistresses.

347
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,720
Following a visit to Hanover
in 1735,

348
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,360
Amalie von Wallmoden
becomes the latest.

349
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,120
Back in London,

350
00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:46,120
the King's increasingly frequent
trips to Hanover

351
00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:48,840
sparked fierce criticism.

352
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,440
<font color="
where he's not here so much

353
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,960
that the British people
are increasingly resentful of him,

354
00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,920
and there's even one story
of someone putting a lost notice

355
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:01,840
on one of the doors of the palaces.

356
00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,560
"If you find my king, can you please
<font color="

357
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,040
"He appears to not be here."

358
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,280
George is canny enough to realise

359
00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,280
that if the Hanoverian dynasty
is to survive,

360
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,640
he must keep both Parliament
and the British public on-side.

361
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,240
In 1728,
he implements a Regency Act,

362
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,720
a law nominating someone
to rule in his place

363
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,920
when he is out of the country.

364
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,680
He chooses not Frederick, his heir,

365
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,200
but his wife, Queen Caroline.

366
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,520
It is very likely that
<font color="

367
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:49,160
largely because of the political
opposition that his son had,

368
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,440
so that he didn't change too much,

369
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,320
in terms of the political workings
of Parliament

370
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,160
while he was away in Hanover.

371
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,280
Because these visits
<font color="

372
00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,280
They weren't just
a week or two weeks,

373
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,720
they were several months.

374
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,240
Frederick believes
he's been overlooked,

375
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:09,800
and goes to even greater lengths
to goad his father.

376
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,440
One summer, there's a delay where
George can't get back from Hanover

377
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,440
because the sea is stormy
<font color="

378
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:21,400
And so Frederick lays
these little seeds of gossip

379
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,360
in the royal court

380
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:26,480
that the king has drowned,
that the ship has gone down.

381
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,560
And what this does
is not only disrupt the apple cart

382
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,480
<font color="
at court,

383
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,120
and the way that he maintains power
and the reputation that he has,

384
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,920
but it actually bolsters Frederick's
reputation, his popularity.

385
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,880
People start to shift their focus
away from George II.

386
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:50,080
Exasperated by his son's
endless acts of defiance,

387
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,720
George decides that the only way
to bring him to heel

388
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,600
is to marry him off.

389
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,840
Surveying the dynastic
marriage market,

390
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,440
his eyes alight on German 16-year-old
Magdalena Augusta Anhalt-Zerbst.

391
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,200
She is considered to be quite mousy.

392
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,520
She's quite a sort of
physically diminutive, small person,

393
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,880
and the idea is that she will bring
<font color="

394
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,280
In May 1736,

395
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,840
Augusta arrives in England,

396
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,120
clutching her favourite doll,

397
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,280
and unable to speak
a word of English.

398
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:40,240
But for money-driven Frederick,
she's the answer to all his prayers.

399
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:41,880
Once they tie the knot,

400
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,040
his annual allowance
is set to triple.

401
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,200
This meant that he could finally
get the money that he wanted,

402
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,240
<font color="
give him more standing in society,

403
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,080
and, you know, maybe his father
would start to respect him more

404
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,400
because he'll be a father
and a husband.

405
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:03,960
(BELLS PEAL)

406
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,520
The wedding takes place
just a few days later.

407
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,680
As ever, securing the line
of succession is the priority.

408
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:18,760
Within a year, Frederick and Augusta
are expecting their first child.

409
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,840
But rather than healing old wounds,

410
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,120
the birth only widens the rift
between prince and king.

411
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,720
Traditionally,
a royal baby must always be born

412
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,040
under the same roof
as the reigning monarch

413
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,200
to ensure that they can bear witness
to the arrival of their newest heir.

414
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,200
But Frederick has other plans.

415
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,560
So determined is he to make sure

416
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,920
his first child won't be born
under his much-hated father's roof,

417
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,680
he risks the lives
of mother and baby.

418
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,680
Augusta is spending the evening
with Frederick and her parents-in-law

419
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:54,960
at Hampton Court Palace.

420
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,680
When Augusta goes into labour,

421
00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,440
the King, the Queen
and the princesses

422
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,440
are upstairs playing cards,

423
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,160
and she's carried
<font color="

424
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,480
She's in intense pain.
Her waters have broken.

425
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,040
Poor Augusta's
in the midst of labour.

426
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,360
Frederick calls a carriage,

427
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,560
you know, basically bundles her
into this carriage.

428
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,960
<font color="
for St James's Palace,

429
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,880
which is miles away.

430
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,000
And when they arrive
at St James's Palace,

431
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,600
there's nothing ready for them
at all.

432
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,760
Nobody knew that they were coming.

433
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,640
There's no midwife there,

434
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,000
<font color="
basically between two tablecloths

435
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,120
because there's no sheets
on the bed.

436
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,720
And the baby Augusta is born sort
of 15 minutes after they arrive.

437
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,200
It's incredibly dramatic.

438
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,040
It's a miracle that both Augusta
<font color="

439
00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,880
On discovering the following morning

440
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,920
that Augusta has given birth
to a baby girl,

441
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,720
Caroline cannot contain her anger.

442
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,600
Have you heard about this...birth?

443
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,760
I would hardly call it that.

444
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:08,840
The latest in the line of succession

445
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,560
almost squeezed out
onto the floor of a carriage!

446
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,600
<font color="
beginning to life.

447
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,240
I could have him hanged.

448
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,120
And the Lord knows
what his father will do.

449
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,280
To the king and queen,

450
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:32,280
Frederick's actions
are an act of extreme provocation.

451
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,080
They were absolutely outraged.

452
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,360
They were so annoyed with their son,

453
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:42,280
<font color="
to see and to witness,

454
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:43,800
as was custom,

455
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,840
and also how dangerous,
to endanger the wife,

456
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,400
you know, the life of
his wife and unborn child,

457
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,240
who was potentially the heir,

458
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:54,080
and say this went down
<font color="

459
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,840
Deploying the same tactics
against his son

460
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,720
as his own father had used
against him,

461
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,680
the king banishes the prince
from the court.

462
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,120
It shows a complete lack of
self-awareness on George II's part,

463
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:12,360
and a lack of awareness that
this is history repeating itself.

464
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:18,520
But far worse family turmoil
awaits the troubled king.

465
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,880
In November 1737,

466
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,840
Caroline falls ill
with a mysterious stomach complaint.

467
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,440
Her condition rapidly deteriorates.

468
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,720
George is beside himself with grief.

469
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,480
Despite his serial infidelity,

470
00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,320
he cannot imagine life
without his beloved wife.

471
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,440
He remains at her side
to the very end.

472
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,280
There's a really lovely moment

473
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:05,440
where you see the tenderness of
George II that you often don't see.

474
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,240
On her deathbed, she says,
"You can marry again."

475
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,440
<font color="
be content with my mistresses."

476
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:13,880
What he means here

477
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,000
is that there's a difference,
in his mind, between love and lust.

478
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,160
And I think that's
a really important distinction

479
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,440
that Queen Caroline held for him,
<font color="

480
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,160
whereas the mistresses
were more lust.

481
00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:30,240
With the death of Caroline,

482
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:35,280
George and Frederick are left alone
to rub along as best they can.

483
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,680
Despite their mutual loathing,

484
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,160
Frederic still has an important role
to play within the family -

485
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,320
securing the Hanoverian succession.

486
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:49,520
In 1738,
a year after his mother's death,

487
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:54,120
Augusta gives birth
to a baby son, George.

488
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,520
Nobody knows that it will be him,
not Frederick,

489
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,320
who will become king.

490
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,600
Frederick may have fulfilled
his dynastic duty,

491
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,000
but there is no
letting up in hostilities

492
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,480
between George II and his son.

493
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:17,400
In a blatant act of defiance,

494
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,200
Frederick embarks upon
open warfare on the king

495
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:25,240
from his new, rival court
in Leicester House.

496
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,080
In the 1730s,
we begin to see a shift

497
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:28,920
in terms of
<font color="

498
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:30,880
of different parts
of the armed forces.

499
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:34,320
For George II,
the emphasis and the excitement

500
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:40,200
has always been around a land-based,
European system

501
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,440
of sort of armies and conflicts.

502
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,280
For Frederick and the next
<font color="

503
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,280
who are sort of earning
their stripes in the 1730s,

504
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,440
the future lies at the hands
of the navy.

505
00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,680
And Britain is an island nation,
they say,

506
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,280
and our strength should be at sea.

507
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:01,600
In 1740, Frederick attends
a theatrical revue

508
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,920
in which a new song,
Rule, Britannia!, is sung.

509
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,960
The words are
a thinly-disguised attack

510
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,120
on his army-loving father.

511
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,160
What's so striking about this first
performance of Rule, Britannia!

512
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:27,400
is it is about an aspiration
for Britain to rule the waves.

513
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:30,280
In that first performance,

514
00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:32,160
it's "RULE the waves."

515
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,640
<font color="
in the future

516
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,560
rather than as we sing it now,
"Britannia RULES the waves,"

517
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,280
you know, saying that
it's kind of already happened.

518
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,680
But Frederick is
wrong about the navy.

519
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:48,320
The biggest threat to Britain
and the Hanoverian line

520
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,520
doesn't lie overseas, but at home.

521
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,000
For the second time
in the Georgian era,

522
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,080
the Jacobites are the crown's
most dangerous adversary.

523
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,360
As supporters of the descendants

524
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:08,560
of the last Stuart king
to rule Britain, James II,

525
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:13,480
and they regard the Hanoverians
as usurpers of the British throne.

526
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,160
PELLING: This support comes from
a large Catholic community,

527
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,760
because, of course,
James II himself was a Catholic.

528
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:27,560
<font color="
is under the surface and invisible.

529
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,120
It's at the heart of British power.

530
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,440
It's in London, in Parliament,
in the royal court,

531
00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,920
and it's one that is
always dripping in the background.

532
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,560
In a dramatic turn of events,

533
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,600
in 1745,

534
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,400
the Jacobite threat
turns into armed insurrection.

535
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,440
What makes this rising different

536
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,280
to all the others
that have come before

537
00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:54,480
is that Charles Edward Stuart
himself

538
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,800
eventually arrives on British soil.

539
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,640
The grandson of James II,
Charles Edward Stuart -

540
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,320
better known
as Bonnie Prince Charlie -

541
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,200
is the poster boy
for the Jacobite movement.

542
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,400
In July 1745,

543
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,760
the would-be king set sail
from France to Scotland.

544
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,320
Staking his claim to the throne,

545
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,800
he assembles an army
and marches south towards London.

546
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,880
When Charles Edward Stuart's
Jacobite forces

547
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,440
start to move through
the English landscape,

548
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,920
there is a real panic,
<font color="

549
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,960
and people start to try
and head south, away from the army.

550
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,600
And actually, lots of people
join the Jacobite army

551
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,600
as it moves through towns,

552
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,440
those who have Jacobite sympathies.

553
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,600
By December the 29th,

554
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:58,280
the army has reached
as far south as Derby.

555
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:03,320
This is a moment of extreme jeopardy
for the House of Hanover.

556
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,160
This really unsettled, as you
can imagine, really unsettled

557
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,200
not just not just George II,

558
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,160
but the whole...
the political establishment,

559
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,600
because they knew that the all
the constitutional compromises

560
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,480
<font color="
that point, the will of Parliament

561
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,040
was sort of at risk.

562
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,440
But when the anticipated support
from France fails to materialise,

563
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:32,360
the Jacobites are forced to retreat.

564
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,120
Then, in 1746,

565
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:38,920
at the Battle of Culloden,

566
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,520
troops led by
George's younger brother,

567
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,120
the Duke of Cumberland,

568
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,200
launch a surprise attack
on the Jacobite army.

569
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,080
The result is a crushing defeat.

570
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,200
The British victors show no mercy.

571
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,800
In the aftermath,
thousands of men are killed.

572
00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,080
The aim was to annihilate Jacobitism

573
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,440
politically,
physically and economically.

574
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,280
When they won
the Battle of Culloden,

575
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:05,800
they did not stop there.

576
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,880
They ran after the survivors,

577
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,000
<font color="
attacked bystanders.

578
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,760
The battlefield is strewn
with thousands of dead,

579
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:21,560
and this marks the end, essentially,
of the Jacobite cause.

580
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,520
The Bonnie Prince,
Charles Edward Stuart escapes,

581
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,320
through the Highlands
<font color="

582
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:30,240
and makes his way back to Europe.

583
00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:36,160
The brutality with which he puts down
the supporters of the rebellion

584
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:39,720
earned Cumberland the nickname
the Butcher.

585
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,520
With the Jacobite cause
resolutely quashed,

586
00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:49,800
the future of the House of Hanover
is finally secure.

587
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,800
There were a competing dynasty.

588
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,080
So, from George's perspective,

589
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,200
<font color="

590
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,320
a horrible one, a bloody one,

591
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,120
but still a victory.

592
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:03,880
Really, what this represents

593
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:08,720
is the moment of confirmation
of the Georgian line of succession.

594
00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:13,840
It's George II's huge triumph,

595
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,400
to secure the throne for him
<font color="

596
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:24,480
And it really puts the threat
of Jacobitism in Britain to bed.

597
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,240
It's not the end of everything,

598
00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:28,960
but it's certainly
the end of the action

599
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,880
that can provide any real threat.

600
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,720
But just as it seems George's reign
is about to enter calmer waters,

601
00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:43,680
once again, a family drama
threatens to derail everything.

602
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:48,440
Six years later, aged only 44,

603
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,080
Frederick, the future king,
dies suddenly.

604
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,400
What Frederick's death does
for George is,

605
00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,680
of course, there probably is a kind
of personal emotional element,

606
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:04,920
but I...my sense of it is
is that the real concern -

607
00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,080
<font color="
if you like -

608
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:12,160
is it kind of it changes the game
in a really unexpected way.

609
00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:17,000
Finally overcoming the years
of constant feuding,

610
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,640
the ageing king reaches out
to his now-widowed daughter-in-law.

611
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,240
Augusta is totally devastated,
as you can imagine.

612
00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:29,320
<font color="
a terrible relationship with,

613
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:31,160
took it quite stoically,

614
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:33,800
but in private,
when he went to see Augusta,

615
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,280
they apparently
cried for hours together.

616
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,680
So that's quite sad, considering
<font color="

617
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,160
With the unexpected death
of the heir to the throne,

618
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,120
and George himself
now in his late 60s,

619
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,240
all eyes are on
Frederick's firstborn son,

620
00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,640
the king's grandchild, George.

621
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,520
With the death of his father,

622
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,680
young George is now
first in line to the throne.

623
00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,840
But he is only 12 years old,

624
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,200
and too young to accede to the throne

625
00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,120
were anything to happen
to his grandfather.

626
00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:09,720
This was not planned for. This was
<font color="

627
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:13,520
That's why it comes back to
the kind of significance of

628
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:17,480
what does it mean
to educate a prince in the 1750s?

629
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:22,280
The idea that your heir,
your new heir,

630
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:24,720
is in their early teens,

631
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:29,480
<font color="
they will require a regency.

632
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,800
So it really changes the political
game quite considerably.

633
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,560
And so for George II,
the kind of question is

634
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,800
how do we manage that
kind of Regency relationship?

635
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,480
A new regent
must be picked immediately.

636
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,040
The obvious candidate
to become regent

637
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,520
is George II's second-born son,

638
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:53,960
the Duke of Cumberland -
the Butcher of Culloden.

639
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:59,000
But George II is wary
of his ruthless reputation.

640
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,040
While we mourn the death
of the prince,

641
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:02,440
there is, of course, the issue of

642
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:04,440
who will act as regent
in your absence.

643
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,520
<font color="

644
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:10,680
(CLEARS THROAT)
No?

645
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,480
Can I really trust him
to rule in my absence?

646
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:16,080
Well, he is your eldest son.
He's too controversial.

647
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:17,520
The people hate him.

648
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,520
Some call him
<font color="

649
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:21,040
A worthy accolade.

650
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,960
For a general. Not a regent.

651
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,640
Unless he plans on
wreaking havoc on my subjects.

652
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,360
There is, of course, Augusta.

653
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,440
I know you had your differences,
but as the prince's spouse,

654
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,720
<font color="
favourable choice.

655
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,240
Then the matter's settled.
The regent will be Augusta.

656
00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:44,840
There'll be no further discussions
on the matter.

657
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,720
By picking his son's widow, Augusta,

658
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:55,800
the ageing king
finally manages to achieve

659
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,960
some kind of family harmony.

660
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,520
But by now, he is becoming
increasingly frail.

661
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:06,000
<font color="
George II's health

662
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,040
is seriously deteriorating,

663
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:10,640
and he's spending
more and more time in bed.

664
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:12,840
He has various ailments.

665
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:17,200
Blind in one eye, deaf,
and increasingly immobile,

666
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,720
George withdraws from public life.

667
00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:24,560
His final nine years are spent
almost entirely in isolation,

668
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,280
following the same
day-to-day routine.

669
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:33,920
In 1756, another major conflict
breaks out in Europe.

670
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:38,080
It is the start of what will become
known as the Seven Year War.

671
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,920
A series of decisive victories
over the French

672
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:45,120
will ultimately leave Britain
a global superpower.

673
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:48,480
When it really kind of hits,

674
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:55,040
it's so tied up with
the growth of empire, land grab,

675
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:57,520
you know, in all parts of where

676
00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:01,760
<font color="
take control or retain control

677
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:04,840
of places that
they already claim in ownership.

678
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:10,680
But the spoils of that war will
only be enjoyed by George's heir,

679
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,280
because, before the war is won,

680
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:17,480
the reign of George II
comes to an end.

681
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:20,760
On October the 25th, 1760,

682
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,200
the king rises early,
as is his custom,

683
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,800
and drinks his habitual
cup of chocolate.

684
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:29,920
<font color="

685
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:33,480
So he goes to the close stool,
and it's quiet,

686
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:36,040
but then there's a loud thud
and a bang,

687
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:37,760
or something like that.

688
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,120
(KNOCKS SOFTLY)

689
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:49,400
George II is found dead
on the floor of his bathroom,

690
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:51,040
aged 77.

691
00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:56,280
By now, Frederick's son George is 22

692
00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:58,960
and able to take the throne himself.

693
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:02,800
Despite George II's
somewhat ignominious ending,

694
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,880
he leaves behind an important legacy.

695
00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:09,480
The House of Hanover
is finally secure.

696
00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:12,840
The fact that again, in 1760,

697
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:17,280
we have a kind of smooth transition,

698
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:22,200
I think says a lot for what
George II achieved during his reign.

699
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:24,360
This is not a monarchy
<font color="

700
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:29,360
It's not a monarchy that is being
riven by revolution or rebellion.

701
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,440
So continuity and security,
in a sense,

702
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:34,440
I think are really important.

703
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,440
He brought this country forward

704
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:41,520
and shepherded in
<font color="

705
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:43,160
Globally, for Britain,

706
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,400
they're on the cusp of
something really interesting.

707
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,840
George's death ushers in
a new era for Britain,

708
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:57,480
one of unrivalled
global dominance and wealth.

709
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:03,480
It will lead to a very different set
of challenges for his grandson,

710
00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:05,320
George III.

711
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:22,160
Next time, George III
becomes the first Hanoverian king

712
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:24,040
born in Britain.

713
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:30,560
A devoted husband who created
the modern image of a royal family.

714
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:39,120
But a king whose reign was shaken
by events both at home and abroad...

715
00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,080
..the loss of the Americas...

716
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,520
..revolution in France...

717
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:52,360
..and then his own inescapable
decline into madness.

718
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,160
Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2024