A colleague once asked me whether there was anything worth knowing about George II, a figure who does not even feature in that immortal guide to British history 1066 and All That other than that ...

George II was the only son of George I and Sophia and was born at Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany, on 30th October 1683. In 1705 he was naturalized an English subject and succeeded his father as king ...

George II, chiefly remembered for his army's brutal treatment of the Scots (for which God Save the King was composed). George III lost the American colonies, and his faculties. George IV ...