Editing George II of Great Britain (section)

==Prince of Wales==

===Quarrel with the King===
[[File:The Thames at Horseferry1710.jpg|thumb|right|London, {{Circa}} 1710]]
[[File:Kneller - George II when Prince of Wales.png|thumb|Portrait by Kneller, 1716]]
George and his father sailed for England from [[The Hague]] on 16/27 September 1714 and arrived at [[Greenwich]] two days later.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 36.</ref> The following day, they formally entered London in a ceremonial procession.<ref>Trench, p. 38; Van der Kiste, p. 37.</ref> George was given the title of [[Prince of Wales]]. Caroline followed her husband to Britain in October with their daughters, while Frederick remained in Hanover to be brought up by private tutors.<ref>Thompson, pp. 39–40; Trench, p. 39.</ref> London was like nothing George had seen before; it was 50 times larger than Hanover,{{efn|Hanover had about 1,800 houses, whereas London had 100,000.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 39.</ref>}} and the crowd was estimated at up to one and a half million spectators.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 37.</ref> George courted popularity with voluble expressions of praise for the English, and claimed that he had no drop of blood that was not English.<ref>Trench, p. 55; Van der Kiste, p. 44.</ref>

In July 1716, the King returned to Hanover for six months, and George was given limited powers, as "Guardian and Lieutenant of the Realm", to govern in his father's absence.<ref>Trench, pp. 63–65; Van der Kiste, p. 55.</ref> He made a [[royal progress]] through [[Chichester]], [[Havant]], [[Portsmouth]], and [[Guildford]] in southern England.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 59.</ref> Spectators were allowed to see him dine in public at [[Hampton Court Palace]].<ref>Black, ''George II'', p. 45; Thompson, p. 47.</ref> An attempt on his life at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]], in which one person was shot dead before the assailant<!--Mr Freeman--> was brought under control, boosted his high public profile.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 61.</ref>

The King distrusted or was jealous of George's popularity, which contributed to the development of a poor relationship between them.<ref>Trench, p. 75; Van der Kiste, p. 61.</ref> The birth in 1717 of George's second son, [[Prince George William of Great Britain|George William]], proved to be a catalyst for a family quarrel; the King, supposedly following custom, appointed Lord Chamberlain [[Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle]], as one of the [[baptism]]al sponsors of the child. The King was angered when George, who disliked Newcastle, verbally insulted the Duke at the christening, which the Duke misunderstood as a challenge to a duel.{{efn|George shook his fist at Newcastle and said "You are a rascal; I shall find you out!", which the Duke apparently misheard as "You are a rascal; I shall fight you!"<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 63.</ref>}} George and Caroline were temporarily confined to their apartments on the order of the King, who subsequently banished his son from [[St James's Palace]], the King's residence.<ref>Trench, p. 77.</ref> The Prince and Princess of Wales left court, but their children remained in the care of the King.<ref>Black, ''George II'', p. 46; Thompson, p. 53; Trench, p. 78.</ref>

George and Caroline missed their children, and were desperate to see them. On one occasion, they secretly visited the palace without the approval of the King; Caroline fainted and George "cried like a child".<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 66.</ref> The King partially relented and permitted them to visit once a week, though he later allowed Caroline unconditional access.<ref>Van der Kiste, pp. 66–67.</ref> In February 1718, Prince George William died aged only three months, with his father by his side.<ref>Trench, p. 80.</ref>

===Political opposition===
Banned from the palace and shunned by his own father, the Prince of Wales was identified for the next several years with opposition to George I's policies,<ref>Trench, pp. 67, 87.</ref> which included measures designed to increase religious freedom in Great Britain and expand Hanover's German territories at the expense of Sweden.<ref>Thompson, pp. 48–50, 55.</ref> His new London residence, [[Leicester House, Westminster|Leicester House]], became a frequent meeting place for his father's political opponents, including [[Sir Robert Walpole]] and [[Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend|Lord Townshend]], who had left the government in 1717.<ref>Trench, pp. 79, 82.</ref>

The King visited Hanover again from May to November 1719. Instead of appointing George to the guardianship, he established a regency council.<ref>Van der Kiste, p. 71.</ref> In 1720, Walpole encouraged the King and his son to reconcile, for the sake of public unity, which they did half-heartedly.<ref>Thompson, p. 57; Trench, pp. 88–90; Van der Kiste, pp. 72–74.</ref> Walpole and Townshend returned to political office, and rejoined the ministry.<ref>Black, ''George II'', p. 52; Thompson, p. 58; Trench, p. 89.</ref> George was soon disillusioned with the terms of the reconciliation; his three daughters who were in the care of the King were not returned and he was still barred from becoming regent during the King's absences.<ref>Trench, pp. 88–89.</ref> He came to believe that Walpole had tricked him into the rapprochement as part of a scheme to regain power. Over the next few years, he and Caroline lived quietly, avoiding overt political activity. They had three more children: [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland|William]], [[Princess Mary of Great Britain|Mary]], and [[Louise of Great Britain|Louisa]], who were brought up at Leicester House and [[Richmond Lodge]], George's summer residence.<ref>Black, ''George II'', p. 54; Thompson, pp. 58–59.</ref>

In 1721, the economic disaster of the [[South Sea Bubble]] allowed Walpole to rise to the pinnacle of government.<ref>Trench, pp. 104–105.</ref> Walpole and his Whig Party were dominant in politics, as the King feared that the [[Tories (British political party)|Tories]] would not support the succession laid down in the [[Act of Settlement]].<ref>Trench, pp. 106–107.</ref> The power of the Whigs was so great that the Tories would not hold power for another half-century.<ref>Thompson, p. 45; Trench, p. 107.</ref>