In 1714 George Ludwig, the fifty-eight year old elector of Brunswick-Luneburg became, as George I, the first of the Hanoverian dynasty to rule Britain. Until his death in 1727 George served as both elector of Hanover and British monarch. An enigmatic figure whose real character has long been concealed by anti-Hanoverian propaganda, George emerges in this ground-breaking biography as an impressive ruler who grasped the responsibilities the accession brought him and set out to bring culture to what he considered the unsophisticated English nation. Ragnhild Hatton's biography is the only comprehensive account of George's life and reign. It draws on a wide range of archival sources in several languages to illuminate the fascinating details of George's early life and dynastic crises, his plans and ambitions for the British nation, the impact of his rationalist ideas and his accomplishments as king. The book also examines George's personal life, his family relationships in both Prussia and England, his private interest in music and the arts and the improvement of his British and Hanoverian properties. Ragnhild Hatton was professor of international history at the University of London and the author of 'Charles XII of Sweden' (1968), 'Europe in the Age of Louis XIV' (1969) and 'Louis XIV and his World' (1972). Jeremy Black, who has written a new foreword for this edition, is professor of history at the University of Exeter.