Editing George II of Great Britain (section)

=== Planning for succession ===

[[File:George II 1755-1767.jpg|thumb|left|alt=George in his seventies|Portrait by [[John Shackleton]], {{Circa}} 1755–1757]]
In the [[1747 British general election|general election of 1747]], [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]], again campaigned actively for the opposition but Pelham's party won easily.<ref>Black, ''George II'', p. 199; Trench, p. 243; Van der Kiste, p. 188.</ref> Like his father before him, Frederick entertained opposition figures at his house in [[Leicester Square]].<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 189.</ref> When Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, his eldest son, [[George III of the United Kingdom|Prince George]], became heir apparent. The King commiserated with Frederick's widow, Augusta, and wept with her.<ref>Thompson, p. 208; Trench, p. 247.</ref> As her son would not reach the age of majority until 1756, a new British Regency Act was passed that would make her regent, assisted by a council led by Frederick's brother William in case of George II's death.<ref>Black, ''George II'', pp. 207–211; Thompson, p. 209; Trench, p. 249; Van der Kiste, p. 195.</ref> The King also made a new will, which provided for William to be sole regent in Hanover.<ref>Thompson, p. 211.</ref> After the death of his daughter [[Louise of Great Britain|Louisa]] at the end of the year, George lamented, "This has been a fatal year for my family. I lost my eldest son&nbsp;– but I am glad of it&nbsp;... Now [Louisa] is gone. I know I did not love my children when they were young: I hated to have them running into my room; but now I love them as well as most fathers."<ref>[[Horace Walpole]]'s memoirs, vol. I, p. 152, quoted in Thompson, p. 213 and Trench, p. 250.</ref>