GEORGE I., KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND IRELAND
Arms.—Within the Garter. Quarterly.
| 1st grand quarter; England and Scotland impaled. | As used by Queen Anne. |
| 2nd grand quarter; France. | |
| 3rd grand quarter; Ireland. | |
| 4th grand quarter; the arms of the Royal Dominions in Germany. Impaled. | |
Dexter: Gules, 2 lions passant guardant or. Brunswick.
Sinister: Or, semée of hearts ppr., a lion rampant az. Lunenburg.
In the base point gu., a horse current arg. Saxony.
Over all an escutcheon gu., charged with the Crown of Charlemagne or, as a badge of the office of High Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire. The Crown of Charlemagne is one of the finest Byzantine Crowns in the world, and it is one of the very few heraldic bearings that are in actual existence. It is of gold and richly ornamented with jewels and enamels, and is kept in the Royal Treasury at Vienna.
Crest.—A Royal Crown ppr., thereon a lion statant guardant or, crowned ppr.
Helmet.—Royal.
Supporters.—The lion and unicorn, as used by James I. (q.v.).
Motto.—Dieu et mon droit.
Initials.—G. R. (Georgius Rex).
Badges.—A Tudor rose and a thistle.
[The many advantages of a good Language. 1724.]
George Lewis, Electoral Prince of Hanover (born 28th May 1660, died 11th June 1727), was the eldest son of Sophia, youngest daughter of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., and Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg. In 1714 Prince George succeeded his cousin, Queen Anne, on the throne of England. He was then fifty-four years of age, and firmly fixed in his German ideas; he never spoke English well, and took every possible opportunity of revisiting his electoral dominions, where he died in 1727.
George I. made an important change in the English coat-of-arms, by including the quartered coat containing the Arms of the Royal Dominions in Germany, Brunswick, Lunenburg, and Saxony. These arms were used in the fourth quarter by George I., George II., and George III. until 1801. After that date they were shown on an escutcheon of pretence by George III., George IV., and William IV., at whose death they were discontinued altogether.
