Editing George I of Great Britain (section)

==Later years==
[[File:George-I lafontaine2.jpg|thumb|left|1720s portrait of George by Georg Wilhelm Lafontaine]]
As requested by Walpole, George revived the [[Order of the Bath]] in 1725, which enabled Walpole to reward or gain political supporters by offering them the honour.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Order of the Bath |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/OrderoftheBath.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102185330/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Honours/OrderoftheBath.aspx |archive-date=2 January 2012 |access-date=7 September 2009 |website=Official website of the British monarchy}}</ref> Walpole became extremely powerful and was largely able to appoint ministers of his own choosing. Unlike his predecessor, Queen Anne, George rarely attended meetings of the cabinet; most of his communications were in private, and he only exercised substantial influence with respect to British foreign policy. With the aid of Lord Townshend, he arranged for the ratification by Great Britain, France and [[Prussia]] of the [[Treaty of Hanover (1725)|Treaty of Hanover]], which was designed to counterbalance the Austro-Spanish [[Treaty of Vienna (1725)|Treaty of Vienna]] and protect British trade.<ref>Hatton, p. 274.</ref>

George, although increasingly reliant on Walpole, could still have replaced his ministers at will. Walpole was actually afraid of being removed from office towards the end of George I's reign,<ref>"George I" (1911). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th edition. London: Cambridge University Press.</ref> but such fears were put to an end when George died during his sixth trip to his native Hanover since his accession as king. He suffered a stroke on the road between [[Delden]] and [[Nordhorn]] on 9 June 1727,<ref>Hatton, p. 282.</ref> and was taken by carriage about 55 miles to the east, to the palace of his younger brother, [[Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany|Ernest Augustus, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück]], where he died two days after arrival in the early hours before dawn on 11 June 1727.{{Efn|22 June in the [[Old Style and New Style dates|New Style]] [[Gregorian calendar]] adopted by Hanover in 1700.}} George I was buried in the chapel of [[Leineschloss|Leine Palace]] in Hanover, but his remains were moved to the chapel at [[Herrenhausen Gardens]] after World War II.<ref name="weir" /> Leine Palace was entirely burnt out as a result of [[Bombing of Hanover in World War II|Allied air raids]] and the King's remains, along with his parents', were moved to the 19th-century mausoleum of [[King Ernest Augustus]] in the Berggarten.<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Helmut |last1=Knocke |first2=Hugo |last2=Thielen |author-link2=Hugo Thielen |chapter=Mausoleum |title=Hannover. Kunst- und Kultur-Lexikon |language=de |edition=4th |date=2007 |page=92}}</ref>
[[File:Mausoleum im Berggarten (Herrenhäuser Gärten).jpg|thumb|Mausoleum of King Ernest Augustus in the Berggarten of [[Herrenhausen Gardens]]]]
George was succeeded by his son, George Augustus, who took the throne as [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]. It was widely assumed, even by Walpole for a time, that George II planned to remove Walpole from office but was dissuaded from doing so by his wife, [[Caroline of Ansbach]]. However, Walpole commanded a substantial majority in Parliament and George II had little choice but to retain him or risk ministerial instability.<ref>Black, ''Walpole in Power'', pp. 29–31, 53, and 61.</ref>