Editing Monarchy of the United Kingdom (section)

===After the 1707 Acts of Union===
[[File:Dahl, Michael - Queen Anne - NPG 6187.jpg|thumb|326x326px|England and Scotland were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain under [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] in 1707.]]
{{see also|List of British monarchs}}
After Anne's accession, the problem of succession re-emerged. The Scottish Parliament, infuriated that the English Parliament did not consult them on the choice of Sophia's family as the next heirs, passed the [[Act of Security 1704]], threatening to end the personal union between England and Scotland. The Parliament of England retaliated with the [[Alien Act 1705]], threatening to devastate the Scottish economy by restricting trade. The Scottish and English parliaments negotiated the [[Acts of Union 1707]], under which England and Scotland were united into a single [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], with succession under the rules prescribed by the Act of Settlement.{{Sfnp|Cannon|Griffiths|1988|pp=447–448}}
[[File:KrkHannover.png|thumb|The [[Electorate of Hanover|Electorate]] later [[Kingdom of Hanover]] was in [[personal union]] with the British monarchy from 1714 to 1837. (Orange; borders shown 1814–1866.)]]
In 1714, Queen Anne was succeeded by her second cousin, and Sophia's son, [[George I of Great Britain|George I]], [[Elector of Hanover]], who consolidated his position by defeating Jacobite rebellions in 1715 and 1719. The new monarch was less active in government than many of his British predecessors, but retained control over his German kingdoms, with which Britain was now in personal union.{{Sfnp|Cannon|Griffiths|1988|pp=460–469}} Power shifted towards George's ministers, especially to Sir [[Robert Walpole]], who is often considered the first [[British prime minister]], although the title was not then in use.<ref>{{Citation |title=Sir Robert Walpole |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/walpole_robert.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=14 October 2008 |archive-date=30 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230015417/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/walpole_robert.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

The next monarch, [[George II of Great Britain|George II]], witnessed the end of the Jacobite threat in 1746 when the Catholic Stuarts were completely defeated. During the long reign of his grandson, [[George III]], thirteen of Britain's American colonies were lost when they formed the [[United States of America]] after the [[American Revolutionary War]], but British influence elsewhere in the world continued to grow. The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] was created by the [[Acts of Union 1800]].{{Sfnp|Ashley|1998|pp=677–680}}
[[File:Allan Ramsay - King George III in coronation robes - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|308x308px|The union of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom occurred in 1801 under [[George III]].]]
From 1811 to 1820, George III was rendered incapable of ruling by mental illness. His son, the future [[George IV]], ruled in his stead as [[List of regents|Prince Regent]]. During [[the Regency]] and his own reign, the power of the monarchy declined, and by the time of his successor, [[William IV]], the monarch was no longer able to interfere effectively with parliamentary power. In 1834, William dismissed the Whig Prime Minister, [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne]], and appointed a Tory, Sir [[Robert Peel]]. In the ensuing elections, however, Peel lost. The king had no choice but to recall Lord Melbourne. During William IV's reign, the [[Reform Act 1832]], which reformed parliamentary representation, was passed. Together with others passed later in the century, the Act led to an expansion of the electoral franchise and the rise of the House of Commons as the most important branch of Parliament.{{Sfnp|Cannon|Griffiths|1988|pp=530–550}}

The final transition to a [[constitutional monarchy]] was made during the long reign of William IV's successor, [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]. As a woman, Victoria could not rule [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]], which permitted succession only in the male line, so the personal union of the United Kingdom and Hanover came to an end. The [[Victorian era]] was marked by great cultural change, technological progress, and the establishment of the United Kingdom as one of the world's foremost powers. In recognition of [[British Raj|British rule over India]], Victoria was declared [[Empress of India]] in 1876. However, her reign was also marked by increased support for the [[Republicanism in the United Kingdom|republican movement]], due in part to Victoria's permanent mourning and lengthy period of seclusion following the death of [[Albert, Prince Consort|her husband]] in 1861.{{Sfnp|Fraser|1975|pp=305–306}}

Victoria's son, [[Edward VII]], became the first monarch of the [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] in 1901. In 1917, the next monarch, [[George V]], changed "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" to "[[House of Windsor|Windsor]]" in response to the anti-German sentiment aroused by the [[First World War]]. George V's reign was marked by the separation of Ireland into Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom, and the [[Irish Free State]], an independent nation, in 1922.{{Sfnp|Fraser|1975|pp=314–333}}