George II of Great Britain & Ireland

On this date in 1727 George II was crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland. Hanoverian by birth, he was the last British monarch to be born outside of the British Isles. He was also the last British monarch to lead an army in battle when in 1743 he participated in the Battle of Dettingen, an engagement in the War of Austrian Succession.  

In 1745 supporters of the Stuart claim to the throne, led by Charles Edward Stuart ("The Young Pretender" or "Bonnie Prince Charlie"), rose up in what would be the last Jacobite Rising. In this doomed attempt to depose George of his throne the Jacobites would win battles at Prestonpans and Falkirk and capture cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. It would be George’s son, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, who would finally quash the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil. In the wake of the rising Cumberland's reprisals would be brutal, earning him the epithet of “The Butcher”.
 
The Jacobite Risings were the subject of our big build of 2017, designed to coincide with Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology. You can find out more about this enormous model on this webpage:
 
www.bricktothepast.com/jacobite-risings.html

The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on British history. Follow us on  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.