with his son (the future George II) created political factions and instability at court, weakening the monarchy's prestige. George was ridiculed by many of his British subjects as unintelligent and wooden. His mistreatment of his wife, Sophia Dorothea, became something of a scandal. His Lutheran faith, his overseeing both the Lutheran churches in Hanover and the Church of England, and the presence of Lutheran preachers in his court caused some consternation among his Anglican subjects.

Politics to 1815