0:00:04 > 0:00:10In 1743, King George II became the last British king ever
0:00:10 > 0:00:13to lead his troops in person on the battlefield.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18"Now, boys," he said, "fire and be brave and the French will soon run!"
0:00:18 > 0:00:20BANG
0:00:23 > 0:00:26The battle was Dettingen, here in Germany,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30and the enemy was Britain's old adversary, France.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36George had reached the ripe old age of 59.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Some of the British thought the ageing king's military
0:00:39 > 0:00:41enthusiasm had got the better of him.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46But when they tried to shuffle the king off the battlefield
0:00:46 > 0:00:48for his own safety, he said,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52"Don't tell me of danger. I'll be even with them."
0:00:53 > 0:00:55BANG
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Now, George II was undeniably brave,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04but was he really acting in the best interests of Britain?
0:01:09 > 0:01:12German George II was a warrior king.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16He was using the power of Britain to protect his other realm,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19his native Hanover.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22But the British were more interested in ruling the waves
0:01:22 > 0:01:24than fighting continental wars.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30For this series, I've been given access to the Royal Collection
0:01:30 > 0:01:33as pieces are brought together for an exhibition about the first
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Georgian kings at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43This was a new dynasty who found themselves fighting the French,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47the Jacobites and each other, all at the same time.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52It's remarkable that these Hanoverian kings
0:01:52 > 0:01:55didn't weaken the monarchy, they strengthened it.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59They helped transform Britain into a global superpower.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10What was George II doing on this foreign battlefield?
0:02:10 > 0:02:13This is exactly where his artillery was positioned.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Well, this is part of the War of the Austrian Succession.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It was a gallant cause.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22It was the defence of the rights of Maria Theresa of Austria
0:02:22 > 0:02:25to inherit her father's throne, even though she was a woman.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31But George had ulterior motives.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34He wanted to contain the French threat
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and protect the interests of Hanover's near neighbour, Austria.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41Although he was nearly 60,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45George II was determined to lead from the front.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48A cannonball went whizzing within half a yard of his head
0:02:48 > 0:02:51and his son, the Duke of Cumberland, got shot in the leg.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56But despite these close brushes with death, the battle was a success.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07You'd think that George II would be riding high after thrashing
0:03:07 > 0:03:11the French, but some of his British subjects weren't happy.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16On the battlefield of Dettingen,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19George had worn the yellow sash of Hanover.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23All the king's enemies at home seized upon the fact that he
0:03:23 > 0:03:28charged into battle wearing Hanoverian colours, not British.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Some people went so far as to say that George was defending Hanover
0:03:33 > 0:03:36with the blood of proud Englishmen.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43It became such a PR problem that when this portrait was painted,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45George was portrayed wearing a sash
0:03:45 > 0:03:49that was tactfully and Britishly blue.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Unsurprisingly, George's opponents
0:03:54 > 0:03:57sought to capitalise on this controversy.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01On the one side were the king's own supporters,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04who wanted to defend the white horse of Hanover.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07This lot wanted a strong British Army
0:04:07 > 0:04:11to get involved in continental wars to protect Hanover's interests.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13On the other hand,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16we have the patriots, represented by the British lion. Raar!
0:04:16 > 0:04:20This lot thought that Hanover was a chink in Britain's defences.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22"Forget Hanover," they said,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25"Britain is an island nation defended by the sea."
0:04:29 > 0:04:35The patriots were a charismatic group of politicians and poets.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39They counted both Whigs and Tories among their number.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44They were the original Euro-sceptics.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48The patriots believed Britain should go it alone.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Ignore continental disputes, build a strong navy
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and gain more colonies in America and around the world.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59This was the way, they argued,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02for Britain to secure international dominance.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Now, this lot needed a leader.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10And they settled upon the king's eldest son, Prince Frederick,
0:05:10 > 0:05:11who, by this point,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15had become something of a professional activist.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19George II had always considered his eldest son Frederick
0:05:19 > 0:05:22to be the black sheep of the family.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27As people said, it ran in the blood of these Georgian monarchs
0:05:27 > 0:05:30to hate their eldest son.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33George II and Frederick had always had their petty feuds
0:05:33 > 0:05:38and squabbles, but now the king was really worried.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Frederick was gaining political momentum.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46In 1740, Frederick was the inspiration for a new song
0:05:46 > 0:05:50that was to be the theme tune for these rebellious patriots.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52Ready?
0:05:52 > 0:05:56It was so scandalous that it had to be performed privately.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00So you might be surprised to learn that you know it already.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03MUSIC: Rule, Britannia!
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Today, people think Rule, Britannia!
0:06:13 > 0:06:15on the Last Night of the Proms
0:06:15 > 0:06:17is a cheery celebration of Britishness.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25But this song was in fact an open revolt against King George II,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28as I suggested to the historian Dr Oliver Cox.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32I mean, when it's first performed, it's a royal revolt.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35It's a song for a prince against his father
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and against his father's Prime Minister.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Rule, Britannia! as we sing it now
0:06:39 > 0:06:42is, "Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves."
0:06:42 > 0:06:44It's a statement of present fact.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47When it's first performed in 1740, it's, "Rule the waves."
0:06:47 > 0:06:49It's a command.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54It's an expectation that if we follow the patriots' policies,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Britain will rule the waves.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00The song goes on and on and on about this concept of liberty.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02What does that mean in the 18th century?
0:07:02 > 0:07:07One of the problems with the 1730s, as far as the patriots are concerned
0:07:07 > 0:07:11is the liberty to choose their own representatives in Parliament,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15the liberty to be protected from external invaders,
0:07:15 > 0:07:21the liberty to trade as they want to, is threatened and endangered.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And what the patriots thought needed to happen
0:07:24 > 0:07:28was an emphasis on English liberty, the navy and trade.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32You've got these three important tenets
0:07:32 > 0:07:35that really bind everything they say together.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Frederick, obviously, is born and grows up in Hanover.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41He's the family's main representative there
0:07:41 > 0:07:42for the first part of his life.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46But then later on, he becomes awfully English, doesn't he?
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Yeah. He sort of rebrands himself.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53And whether it's a clever piece of opportunistic politicking
0:07:53 > 0:07:57in the sense that by acting far more English,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00he's able to bring in a sort of disparate group
0:08:00 > 0:08:03of the disaffected politicians and poets
0:08:03 > 0:08:06who may one day be able to help him
0:08:06 > 0:08:10conceive of a coherent opposition policy to his father.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Does he do all this just to annoy his dad?
0:08:12 > 0:08:15I think a lot of the difficulties and the issues
0:08:15 > 0:08:18that we see throughout the 1730s and 1740s
0:08:18 > 0:08:20is Frederick, you know,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22sticking his middle finger up at his dad.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Frederick was the king in waiting.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And he was, frankly, getting impatient for power.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37He now had his own rival court
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and he began to tussle with his father, George II,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44over foreign policy and how best to tackle the French threat.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Patriot William Pitt was just one politician
0:08:49 > 0:08:53who fought for Frederick's manifesto in Parliament.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58He felt that the Electorate of Hanover was Britain's weak link.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Pitt was a notoriously good orator.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04This is one wonderful speech that he made in the Houses of Parliament,
0:09:04 > 0:09:09complaining that the Hanoverian tail was wagging the British dog.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13"Britain," he said, "this great, this powerful,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15"this formidable country,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20"is treated merely as the province of a despicable electorate."
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Clearly, this wasn't going to win him any favours with George II.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28And throughout the 1740s, Pitt was a lone voice in the wilderness,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31like Churchill before World War II.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33He was calling for more British self-confidence
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and aggression towards France,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39the seizing of French colonies in America.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41But nobody was listening.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Pitt was right.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The French were always looking for ways to destabilise Britain.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51And so, they conspired with Jacobite plotters.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58George II's exiled rival, the Pretender, James Stuart,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01had a good blood claim to the British crown.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05But he had been excluded for his Catholicism.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12This would-be King James III and his Jacobite supporters
0:10:12 > 0:10:15had been twiddling their thumbs in exile in Rome.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19But the French now threw them a lifeline -
0:10:19 > 0:10:22military backing to attempt a coup in Britain.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29On 23rd July 1745,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32James III's son, Charles Edward Stuart,
0:10:32 > 0:10:37landed on the east coast of Scotland and sounded the rallying cry.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Charles, who was basically an Italian,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46was here to challenge George, a German, to the British throne.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And here at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
0:10:51 > 0:10:54is the man of the hour.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59Prince Charles Edward Stuart, AKA the Young Pretender.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Charles Stuart had been brought up in Rome.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08And he'd always been told that the British throne was rightfully his,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11if only he could go out and get it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16This portrait is like a recruiting poster for the prince's supporters.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19He's saying here, "Your prince needs you!"
0:11:19 > 0:11:22And what a dashing and handsome young prince he is.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25He's looking very martial in his armour.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27He's looking very official
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and respectable in his blue sash of the Order of the Garter.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34But on top of that, he's wearing the green ribbon
0:11:34 > 0:11:38with the Cross of St Andrews of the Order of the Thistle.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40The Scottish Order.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41And this is designed to appeal
0:11:41 > 0:11:45to his richest source of potential support, the Scots.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51The Stuarts had been Scottish kings
0:11:51 > 0:11:55long before they'd inherited the English throne in the 17th century.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59And many Scots, particularly in the Highlands,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02rallied to Charles Stuart's cause.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06George II's popularity was at a low point.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11His decision to go on fighting the War of the Austrian Succession
0:12:11 > 0:12:14was seen as a pointless drain on British resources.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18It was mainly the old Protestant dislike
0:12:18 > 0:12:21and mistrust of Catholicism
0:12:21 > 0:12:25that was keeping King George II on the throne
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and the exiled Stuarts off it.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Edinburgh should have been a stronghold for George II,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38but with a sword in one hand and a cross in the other,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41the Young Pretender simply strolled with his forces
0:12:41 > 0:12:44into the Scottish capital and took control.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48He got a riotous reception,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50particularly from two sections of the crowd.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Firstly, the so-called common people and secondly, the ladies.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58All the women got out their handkerchiefs and threw them
0:12:58 > 0:13:00into the street in front of him.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05It was on this occasion that a new nickname was heard for Charles Stuart.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08People were shouting out for "Bonnie Prince Charlie".
0:13:12 > 0:13:16By now, Charles Stuart had got together an army
0:13:16 > 0:13:20of between 11,000 and 14,000 troops.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23His advisors encouraged him to seize the hour...
0:13:25 > 0:13:27..to march on London to take the big prize.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30The British throne.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Charles Stuart set up government
0:13:33 > 0:13:37here at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for five weeks.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41While he was here, he issued the declaration of King James,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44on behalf of his exiled father.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46This declaration appealed very cleverly
0:13:46 > 0:13:49to the self-interest of the British.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52It said that their German kings had been involving them
0:13:52 > 0:13:55in irrelevant foreign wars,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58wasting their resources, disrupting trade
0:13:58 > 0:14:02and, anyway, nobody wants to be ruled by a foreigner.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04You can see how this touched a nerve
0:14:04 > 0:14:08amongst Prince Frederick's group of patriots.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Charles Stuart was being rather clever here.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21He knew that running down Hanover would appeal to the British public.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Indeed, Sir Robert Walpole, when he was Prime Minister,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26had remarked that they would have been better off
0:14:26 > 0:14:29making Charles Stuart Elector of Hanover,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34because the public will never fetch another king from there.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40During the weeks of Charles Stuart's advance south into England,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43tensions mounted in the Georgian court.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49George II, bursting for a fight as usual,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52was ready to get on his horse and lead the charge.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Instead, though, his younger son, the rotund Duke of Cumberland,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01was hurriedly brought back from the War of the Austrian Succession
0:15:01 > 0:15:04and sent north to face the Jacobite threat.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09There was no love lost between the sons of George II.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12That's Frederick, the Prince of Wales,
0:15:12 > 0:15:15and his younger brother, the Duke of Cumberland.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18They really were chalk and cheese.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Frederick was thin and liked music,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23whereas Cumberland was as fat as a Cumberland sausage
0:15:23 > 0:15:25and he was a career soldier.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Frederick was right to worry about the threat
0:15:28 > 0:15:31his younger brother represented.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33George II had even talked about a plan
0:15:33 > 0:15:37where Frederick would be shuffled out of the line of succession
0:15:37 > 0:15:39and given Hanover as a consolation prize,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and the crown of Great Britain would be placed firmly
0:15:42 > 0:15:46on the head of the king's favourite son, Cumberland, instead.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Cumberland now marched north
0:15:53 > 0:15:57for a showdown with the Jacobite army at Carlisle Castle.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Meanwhile, his brother Frederick
0:16:01 > 0:16:04had Carlisle Castle recreated in spun sugar
0:16:04 > 0:16:08for a rather quirky dinner party rebellion.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10The Duke of Cumberland had liberated
0:16:10 > 0:16:13the city of Carlisle from the Jacobites.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15But Frederick wasn't very impressed by this.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18He decided to make a mockery out of it.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19One day for dessert,
0:16:19 > 0:16:24he ordered a model of the Citadel of Carlisle to be made out of sugar.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27And after dinner, he bombarded it with sugarplums.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Now, this must have been quite hilarious for Frederick's guests
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and it may seem a little bit trivial.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36But actually, members of the royal family
0:16:36 > 0:16:39couldn't come right out and openly criticise each other.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42They had to express their opinions obliquely.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And that's why their politics could be expressed
0:16:45 > 0:16:47through things like their puddings.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Frederick was also making a bigger, humanitarian point.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56He was a gentler character than his brother
0:16:56 > 0:17:00and abhorred Cumberland's brutal approach to warfare.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08As Charles Stuart and the Jacobites retreated back north into Scotland,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13the Duke of Cumberland was beginning to pursue them with real ferocity.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17GUNFIRE
0:17:20 > 0:17:22FAINT SHOUTS
0:17:22 > 0:17:24CHORAL SINGING
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The struggle for the British throne came to a head here at Culloden...
0:17:46 > 0:17:51..a battlefield that would become a byword for cruelty and bloodshed.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57This was the last battle ever to be fought on British soil.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It was to be decided by two men in their 20s.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Bonnie Prince Charlie was 25
0:18:04 > 0:18:06and Cumberland's 25th birthday
0:18:06 > 0:18:08was the day before the battle.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Kate Heard, Royal Collection Trust's
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18believes this watercolour is the closest we have
0:18:18 > 0:18:21to a visual first-hand account of Culloden.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27This picture takes us to a ringside seat at the battle, doesn't it?
0:18:27 > 0:18:29How was the artist able to do that?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32We know that the artist was at the battle. He was working for
0:18:32 > 0:18:35the Duke of Cumberland as a draughtsman and surveyor.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37So we know he was an eyewitness to the battle.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It looks like this side are winning because they're all coming forwards.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- But that's not actually what's happening, is it?- No.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46You're absolutely right in that they are appearing to advance.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They are advancing. It's the Jacobite troops on the right.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51They are doing this Highland charge,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54which is their characteristic means of fighting.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56And it had been very successful for them.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00They'd won the Battle of Prestonpans just earlier in the same manner.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02But what they are facing
0:19:02 > 0:19:05is devastating fire from the government troops.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06They've got better guns.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09They've got better guns and they've loaded them with canister shot,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11which scatters shot across the field.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There's the Duke of Cumberland, sitting there watching.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Was he a good commander, do you think?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18He had a lot to prove, at this point.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21He'd recently suffered a really humiliating defeat
0:19:21 > 0:19:23against the French on the Continent at the Battle of Fontenoy
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and he'd come to deal with a Jacobite threat.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30We know he sent spies to the Jacobite camp the night before,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33so he was forewarned of what was about to happen.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36And he also had the advantage, in that the Jacobites
0:19:36 > 0:19:38had attempted a night raid which had failed,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42so the soldiers were tired, in a way that his soldiers weren't.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's very distressing,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47because we've got all of these poor Highlanders running forwards,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49with what looks like a pitchfork in his hand
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and these guys are just shooting cannons at them.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55It was clearly a horrific battle. A great sort of toll.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01But there was another factor in the fall of the Jacobites.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06They'd been abandoned by their French allies.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Things were now going well for the French on the Continent.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15They no longer needed to employ diversionary tactics in Scotland.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22I met Dr Tony Pollard, a battlefield historian,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24who believes that Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:20:24 > 0:20:29didn't have any choice but to turn and face Cumberland's forces.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Tony, why did Bonnie Prince Charlie have to stand and fight here?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Or why did he feel that he had to?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37There are a number of reasons, really.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40For the Jacobites, it's a last roll of the dice.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43And the option is either to fight here,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47or disappear into the mountains and basically fight a guerrilla war.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Wouldn't they have been really good at that?
0:20:49 > 0:20:52I'm sure they would have been, given the Highland backbone to the army,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55but the thing is that Charles is a prince,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57and princes do not fight guerrilla wars.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- It's a matter of masculine pride. - There's very much a matter of pride.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05So, Bonnie Prince Charlie has his last great gamble. It fails.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Just how bad was the defeat?
0:21:07 > 0:21:10For him personally, it seems to have been catastrophic.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13He can't deal with the fact that this was it.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15But there are still men out there desperate to continue the fight.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17But he doesn't want to.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20And he disappears off into the heather, famously.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24And so, the Jacobite cause bleeds to death on Culloden Moor.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28What sort of reprisals did Cumberland start to take?
0:21:28 > 0:21:30This is where things get very nasty.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Almost as soon as the gun smoke has cleared,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35the reprisals on the field begin,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37and wounded Jacobites are executed,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41men are taken away and imprisoned temporarily, then executed.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Civilians are kept away from the battlefield.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48So, it beggars belief what might have gone on here.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Now, some people have used the words "ethnic cleansing"
0:21:50 > 0:21:52to talk about these atrocities.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- Do you think that's fair? - Very much so.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58There is a concerted campaign, particularly in the Highlands,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01basically, to wreak havoc and to take revenge.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03And there are some terrible stories.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And Cumberland himself, at one point, wanted to exile
0:22:06 > 0:22:09most of the population of the Highlands to the Americas,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11so they couldn't cause more trouble.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15So, it's an understandable response to these events.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Mass killings and mass graves.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Unspeakable atrocities were witnessed at Culloden.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33And in Scotland, the duke is still known as "Butcher" Cumberland.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Back in London though, he was feted as the man who'd saved Britain.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Handel's Oratorio, Judas Maccabaeus,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54including the words, "See the conquering hero comes,"
0:22:54 > 0:22:58was composed in his honour and rang out at St Paul's Cathedral.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07King George II had finally vanquished the Stuart threat.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10A visitor to his crowded court reported,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14"I never saw anyone in such glee as the king."
0:23:19 > 0:23:22You could also buy a little bit of the Hanoverian victory
0:23:22 > 0:23:24to take home with you,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28in the form of these commemorative medals in gold or silver,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31celebrating the Duke of Cumberland.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And this is such a divisive image, isn't it?
0:23:34 > 0:23:38To the Hanoverian supporters in London, they would have seen here
0:23:38 > 0:23:41a conquering hero, a fine figure of a man.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44But if you show this image of the duke with his jowls
0:23:44 > 0:23:49to a Scottish person, even today, they are likely to spit on it.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And the Hanoverians weren't done with the Highlanders yet.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59George II got Parliament to pass the Dress Act
0:23:59 > 0:24:04that made it illegal to wear tartan and banned the bagpipes.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Frederick disagreed with this heavy-handed treatment,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13but again, he displayed his rebellion in quite a cunning way.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17He commissioned a painting of his son,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22the future George III, containing a coded message.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24People at the time thought there was something
0:24:24 > 0:24:26very strange about this picture.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30It was painted only months after the Battle of Culloden and yet,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32the little boy is wearing tartan.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36This could have been family politics.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38This is Frederick and his children
0:24:38 > 0:24:41having a go at Frederick's brother, the Duke of Cumberland,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43the victor of Culloden.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Maybe Frederick is saying,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49"I have some sympathy for the vanquished Jacobites."
0:24:49 > 0:24:53And I'd like to think this is Frederick trying to assimilate
0:24:53 > 0:24:56the style of the Scots back into Great Britain.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It would eventually work very well.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Tartan would become a symbol of romanticism, rather than rebellion.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Myth and romance swirl around our image of the brave Scots,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14with their pitchforks being cut down by a hi-tech army.
0:25:20 > 0:25:26In reality, Scotland was just as sophisticated a society as England.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34The Jacobites may have been in love with the past,
0:25:34 > 0:25:40wanting to turn back time to the days when kings had divine right.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44But Scotland also boasted more progressive people,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46such as a group of new thinkers
0:25:46 > 0:25:50who were much more interested in shaping the future.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53The men of the Scottish Enlightenment.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58From poetry to pathology, Enlightenment thinking
0:25:58 > 0:26:02flowed out into all sorts of channels, including architecture.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Those behind it thought that their future lay within the Union.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11So, a competition to create a whole new quarter of Edinburgh
0:26:11 > 0:26:15was won by a design that featured a Union flag.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21George Street links the grand thoroughfares
0:26:21 > 0:26:24of Hanover Street and Frederick Street.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32But just why did the Scottish capital teem with innovation?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34The answer was education
0:26:34 > 0:26:37and education and education.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42By 1750, the Scots were the most literate nation in Europe.
0:26:42 > 0:26:4475% of them knew how to read.
0:26:44 > 0:26:50And they also had five universities, as opposed to just two in England.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53At the Scottish universities, the fees were relatively low
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and the social mix was relatively broad.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Scottish people liked to joke
0:26:58 > 0:27:02that there were the same number of universities in the whole of England
0:27:02 > 0:27:04as there were in just the city of Aberdeen.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11There was also a practical bent to education in Scotland.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Poor but ambitious Scots,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18armed with useful skills found plenty of opportunity abroad
0:27:18 > 0:27:21in Britain's trade networks and new colonies.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25The Scots had failed to beat the English,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29so now it seemed like time to join them and make a profit.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Professor Tom Devine believes
0:27:33 > 0:27:36that while the English ruled Britain's colonies,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38the Scots actually ran them.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41What were the practical effects of the Scottish Enlightenment,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44when these well-educated Scottish people were going abroad
0:27:44 > 0:27:47to sort of practise it in other countries?
0:27:47 > 0:27:49The impact is significant across the Atlantic
0:27:49 > 0:27:52in the mid to late 18th-century period,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54because these new colonies, North American colonies,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58what became the USA, is looking for ideas.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02For example, it's looking for a kind of intellectual toolkit
0:28:02 > 0:28:05from European thinking, in order to build up
0:28:05 > 0:28:09its institutions virtually from scratch.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11And to a significant degree, it gets them from Scotia.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The most remarkable example was what was called
0:28:15 > 0:28:18the College of New Jersey, better known now as Princeton.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Princeton was the seminary
0:28:19 > 0:28:22for the first generation of statesmen in the USA.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And Princeton's president was John Witherspoon,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29a Scot, a Scottish cleric of the Enlightenment period.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Do you think it's fair to say the Scottish Enlightenment
0:28:32 > 0:28:35was a sort of engine driving the expansion of the British Empire?
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Well, it certainly was in terms of thinking
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and it certainly was in terms of the tremendous regard
0:28:41 > 0:28:42that during the Enlightenment,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Scotland developed almost a reverence for learning.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47And that was very important,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50because not all immigrants
0:28:50 > 0:28:53into the empire in this period were literate.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Scots had this particular advantage of literacy and numeracy.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00I mean, don't forget, you get Scottish stereotypes aplenty.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03The Scottish doctor, the Scottish physician,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05the Scottish engineer. "Beam me up, Scotty."
0:29:05 > 0:29:09So you've got these intelligent, well-educated, rational,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11- commercially successful Scots. - And greedy.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14But they're not making their own society fairer,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16they're going off across the world to get rich elsewhere.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21But it's important to recognise that among this range of influences,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24if you like, the intellectual engine of Enlightenment,
0:29:24 > 0:29:30I would argue the primary engine is materialistic.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32The reason why Scottish doctors
0:29:32 > 0:29:36went in their large numbers to the Caribbean
0:29:36 > 0:29:39was not simply to study disease
0:29:39 > 0:29:43or to provide support or healing,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46it was to make lots and lots of filthy lucre.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47SHE CHUCKLES
0:29:50 > 0:29:54One settlement that provided these kinds of opportunities
0:29:54 > 0:29:57was the new American colony of Georgia,
0:29:57 > 0:29:59named after King George II.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05In exchange for bringing education to the Native American population,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08Britain gained fertile territory
0:30:08 > 0:30:12for growing new empire products, like tobacco.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17In 1734, the kings of this New World
0:30:17 > 0:30:21came to pay their respects to the king of the old.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24A party of chiefs from the Cherokee nation came here
0:30:24 > 0:30:26to this room in Kensington Palace,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30to pay their respects to the King of Britain.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Their leader was called Tomochichi.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34He came with his war captains
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and their faces were painted in red and black.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The British thought it looked like they were wearing masks.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43As part of the welcome ceremony,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Tomochichi was introduced to the ladies of the British court.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49And he was asked to judge which of them
0:30:49 > 0:30:52he thought was the most beautiful.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Tomochichi gave what I think is a very diplomatic answer.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57He said, "I can't possibly tell,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00"because all you white folk look the same to me."
0:31:05 > 0:31:08The race was on to colonise the New World.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15And, again, George II's Scottish subjects were helping to win it.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Protecting Georgia's lucrative frontier lands
0:31:18 > 0:31:22against the Spanish in Florida and the French in the Alabama Basin
0:31:22 > 0:31:26were Scottish Highlanders, who'd emigrated as soldier-settlers.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32One of the first towns they founded was New Inverness,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34named after the home they'd left behind.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Transporting the products of the empire safely back to Britain
0:31:45 > 0:31:46was not without risk.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53Vessels faced the hazards of piracy and shipwreck.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Prince Frederick, still banging his patriot drum,
0:31:58 > 0:32:03believed a strong navy to protect the trade routes was vital,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05and he said so on a visit to Bristol.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10When Frederick was entertained here at the Merchants' Hall,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14it was very lavishly, with 100 dishes on the table.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17And he was mobbed by the wives of 500 merchants.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21He made a speech that was all about the importance of the Navy,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24to protect the ships of all of these people, carrying their cotton
0:32:24 > 0:32:28and their sugar. And this went down very well, as you might expect.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31He finished with a few rousing words on
0:32:31 > 0:32:34"the importance of the advancement of trade,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36"which has a valuable effect
0:32:36 > 0:32:38"on the liberty and happiness of our nation."
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Cheers!
0:32:46 > 0:32:52All sorts of new empire goods were now available in Britain,
0:32:52 > 0:32:54and keen consumers were to be found
0:32:54 > 0:32:57in the growing middling rank of society.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Crucially, the Georgians now had a reliable system of credit.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06You could order goods now and pay for them later.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11People could now buy not only what they needed,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13but what they wanted.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16The British went mad for the so-called Empire products -
0:33:16 > 0:33:19tea from China and textiles from India.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22And they also loved the 18th-century phenomenon
0:33:22 > 0:33:26known as the toy shop. We're not talking here about toys for kids,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29but for adults, little knick-knacks and table decorations,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31that sort of thing.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Dr Johnson defined a toy as
0:33:33 > 0:33:36"something for show rather than use,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39"a petty commodity, a trifle."
0:33:43 > 0:33:48It was during this era that luxury became something of a buzz word.
0:33:50 > 0:33:57Paul Bertrand ran a fashionable toy shop for adults in Westminster,
0:33:57 > 0:33:59where Frederick, Prince of Wales,
0:33:59 > 0:34:04extravagantly spent over £700 in a single visit on knick-knacks.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11His purchases ranged from a silver corkscrew
0:34:11 > 0:34:13to a selection of antique porcelain.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Frederick was desperate to look up-to-date,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21because for the first time,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25the Royal Court was not associated with all that was fashionable.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31You can see this in a very striking way,
0:34:31 > 0:34:36if you look at what women were wearing at court.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39One of the most incredible dresses to have survived
0:34:39 > 0:34:43from the Georgian period is the Rockingham Mantua.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Joanna Marschner, Curator of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53believes this glittering relic was a fabulous creation, yes,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56but out of step with modern society.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00So, Joanna, this is a dress fit to be worn at the Georgian Court.
0:35:00 > 0:35:01You can just see,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05this is the flashiest dress that you can even begin to imagine.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08And it was really, really expensive.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11It is made out of the most precious textile.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15It's called an orris tissue, woven with real silver.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18There was something a bit uniform-like about it, too,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20wasn't there? You had to wear something like this
0:35:20 > 0:35:24- if you were going to appear at court?- The absolute courtly giveaway
0:35:24 > 0:35:27is that you wore it with a petticoat.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30And the petticoat stemmed out from here,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32and you can do the same thing on the other side.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34And it is enormous.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36It would have come down like this.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40And it stood out like a piece of pasteboard,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43it really was a bit like a billboard.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48This gives a sense of how impractically vast it is, doesn't it?
0:35:48 > 0:35:50It must've been pretty difficult to walk in.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54But that's sort of the point of this type of dress, isn't it?
0:35:54 > 0:35:56This is a style of dress for a person
0:35:56 > 0:35:59who will go to one of these lovely gatherings.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03And you'd have stood there, just looking glamorous and glorious.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07And as this style falls away in fashionable circles,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09in the court, it gets ever more entrenched.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Now, yes, these dresses are spectacular
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and they're otherworldly,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19but as the reign of George II goes on,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23they're getting increasingly out of step with contemporary society.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26At court, they're still wearing a type of dress
0:36:26 > 0:36:31that had been fashionable in the real world 60 years before.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34And there's a brilliant description from the very late Georgian period
0:36:34 > 0:36:38of an elderly court beauty going to the palace
0:36:38 > 0:36:41in one of these dresses, wearing a bit too much make-up.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45She's travelling by sedan chair, and through its glass window,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50she looks like "a specimen from a natural history collection."
0:36:50 > 0:36:54She looks like "the foetus of a hippopotamus
0:36:54 > 0:36:56"pickled in a bottle of brandy."
0:37:01 > 0:37:04The court was turning into an outsized bauble...
0:37:05 > 0:37:07..ornamentally important,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11yet increasingly separate from the serious business of getting ahead.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18The drivers of taste were now the merchants, the middling sort.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23And they had a fresh passion -
0:37:23 > 0:37:25the novel.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32The 18th century saw the birth of this new literary genre,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36which was driven by a growing and increasingly literate
0:37:36 > 0:37:38middle rank in society.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43But many novelists were keen on attacking the luxury
0:37:43 > 0:37:45enjoyed by their readers.
0:37:46 > 0:37:51They believed Empire products were corrupting the British.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57One of the most vociferous critics of luxury
0:37:57 > 0:38:00was the Scottish writer Tobias Smollett.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03In this novel, Humphry Clinker,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06there's a sort of an antihero called Matthew Bramble.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09And Matthew Bramble goes on this great voyage or adventure
0:38:09 > 0:38:14all around Britain, and everywhere he finds debauchery, and conmen,
0:38:14 > 0:38:18and pimps, and particularly, the nouveau riche.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23Smollett is very down on their empty glitter and glare.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Now, Tobias Smollett and Matthew Bramble are practically
0:38:26 > 0:38:31the same person, and can claim to be the original grumpy old man.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Smollett had such a pessimistic and negative view of life
0:38:35 > 0:38:39that his rival writers called him "snail fungus."
0:38:44 > 0:38:49Smollett ridiculed the super-rich in their mock Palladian palaces.
0:38:51 > 0:38:56Behind the facades of these la-di-da Georgian town houses, he said,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58lay dirty secrets.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Smollett thought that Georgian cities were
0:39:04 > 0:39:08"the grand sources of luxury and corruption"
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and that their inhabitants were controlled
0:39:10 > 0:39:14"by the demons of licentiousness."
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Smollett was just one of many writers who revealed that
0:39:20 > 0:39:23the engine driving much of Britain's economic success
0:39:23 > 0:39:27was far less palatable than tea or sugar.
0:39:36 > 0:39:42Professor James Walvin has made the slave trade his life's study.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45He believes that slavery seeped into
0:39:45 > 0:39:48every pore of Britain's emerging empire.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56So, how does this trade actually work?
0:39:56 > 0:39:59What are the goods that are involved?
0:39:59 > 0:40:01We talk of it as a triangular trade.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03It's much more complex, geographically, than that.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Nonetheless, that's the basic core of it.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Ships that leave here, Bristol, Liverpool, London,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12packed to the gunnels with produce from the hinterland.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Metal goods, but, above all, textiles for West Africa.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19And, in West Africa, those goods are traded for Africans.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21They're traded with other African traders.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24It's Africans providing the Africans for the slave ships.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27And then, they're shipped across in huge numbers,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30the largest enforced movement of people ever,
0:40:30 > 0:40:31to the plantations of the Americas.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35The last leg is the leg that brings back the produce
0:40:35 > 0:40:39that the slaves had grown. It's tobacco. It's sugar.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41It's dye - dyestuffs.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Rice, which we use for starch.
0:40:43 > 0:40:4518th-century clothing, ladies' fashionable clothing,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48starched and beautiful, where does the starch come from?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52It comes from rice. And who grows the rice? Africans in South Carolina.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57What impact do you think the slave trade had on Britain's economy then?
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Was it central to it?
0:40:59 > 0:41:02Historians have been arguing about this now for 50, 60 years.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06How central is the slave trade in the emergence of the British economy?
0:41:06 > 0:41:09It's very hard to pin down to numbers.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13The knock-on effect of the slave trade is extraordinary.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Who thinks, if you're looking at small textile villages in Yorkshire,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20that this is somehow or other driven by the slave trade?
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Who thinks of the trade in textiles from India, that this has got
0:41:22 > 0:41:25something to do with the slave trade? But Africans in Jamaica
0:41:25 > 0:41:29and Barbados are clothed in cool-fitting cotton,
0:41:29 > 0:41:31goods from Gujarat.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34The ramifications of it are extraordinary,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36not merely in Britain but globally.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38You're actually looking at a form of globalisation,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40in a world that doesn't use the word.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Do you think people were aware of this sort of dirty secret
0:41:43 > 0:41:45behind their economic success?
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Or was it a case of out of sight, out of mind?
0:41:48 > 0:41:52The British have traditionally not thought of slavery as something that's to do with them.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55This is something to do with Africa or the Atlantic, or the Americas.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57Whereas, in fact, British ships had taken them over,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00it's British money that makes it possible,
0:42:00 > 0:42:02it's Britain that profits from slave work.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05So that it's very easy to think of yourself
0:42:05 > 0:42:08as being committed to freedom and liberty,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12and not remember that actually, all of your material wellbeing
0:42:12 > 0:42:14is bound up with something quite different,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17and that is the enslavement of millions of Africans.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23Britain was helped in becoming
0:42:23 > 0:42:25the biggest slave-trading nation in the world
0:42:25 > 0:42:27because it had a strong navy.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Prince Frederick's supporters, singing Rule, Britannia!,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37claimed that "Britons never shall be slaves."
0:42:40 > 0:42:44They were praising Britain's extraordinary liberties.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47But by policing British trade routes, the Royal Navy
0:42:47 > 0:42:50was helping to enslave millions of Africans.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57The irony was lost, not just on Frederick,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59but on the majority of the British people.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05His patriot faction had never been more influential.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11King George II felt that he was losing the PR battle to his son
0:43:11 > 0:43:15and relations between them were as bad as ever.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21There was still no love lost between father and son.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23George II was overheard saying
0:43:23 > 0:43:26that he cared for his son "no more than a louse,"
0:43:26 > 0:43:29and that when Frederick succeeded, "he'd ruin everything."
0:43:29 > 0:43:31But the king was wrong about this.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38When Frederick was only 44, he quite unexpectedly died.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43He'd been out in the rain, he caught a cold,
0:43:43 > 0:43:48and what actually killed him was a clot of blood on the lungs.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53The news reached George II one evening,
0:43:53 > 0:43:57when he was playing at cards with a whole load of courtiers.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Now, they all turned to look at him and they were closely watching him
0:44:01 > 0:44:04for further evidence that he'd hated his son.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08And they thought they'd found it, because he didn't react at all.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11His face was impassive.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14This could've been cold-heartedness, or it could have been
0:44:14 > 0:44:18that the king was just following rigid royal etiquette -
0:44:18 > 0:44:20never to express emotion in public.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30So, we were never to have King Frederick I,
0:44:30 > 0:44:35described by his supporters as "the greatest king we never had."
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Frederick had been the most popular member of the royal family.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45But his funeral, here at Westminster Abbey,
0:44:45 > 0:44:51was marred by disorganisation, rain and a lack of refreshments.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57It confirmed everything Frederick's friends believed about George II
0:44:57 > 0:45:02and his favouritism towards his younger son, the Duke of Cumberland.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06The death of his son got the king thinking about his own mortality
0:45:06 > 0:45:08and he now made a new will.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13He designated his grandson, the future George III, as his successor.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16The king's first idea had been to say that his second
0:45:16 > 0:45:19and favourite son, the Duke of Cumberland,
0:45:19 > 0:45:23should be Regent, if necessary, but this wouldn't wash.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Butcher Cumberland was just too unpopular.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30In fact, when Frederick died, people on the street were heard to say,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32"Oh, we wish it had been his brother."
0:45:36 > 0:45:41Frederick's death threw his patriot supporters into turmoil.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Those who had hoped to rise to power in his reign
0:45:45 > 0:45:47were extremely disappointed.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Their promised peerages had gone up in smoke.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59In the wake of Frederick's death,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03it was his widow Augusta who reacted the most decisively.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08One of the reasons that we don't fully understand
0:46:08 > 0:46:13the character of Prince Frederick is because his wife burnt his papers.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17And she did it to control his lasting reputation,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20so that no hint of scandal would get out.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22I think that this shows that
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Augusta was quite a politically savvy person,
0:46:25 > 0:46:29and it also demonstrates a certain steeliness.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32She would now devote the rest of her life
0:46:32 > 0:46:35to looking after the interests of Frederick's son, and hers,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40the little boy who was her route to power, the future King George III.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51Augusta was worried that if she antagonised King George II,
0:46:51 > 0:46:54he could take her son away from her,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58just as George I had taken Princess Caroline's children.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Augusta had lost her husband.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07She didn't want to lose her children as well.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14But she knew that she had to act cleverly and with subtlety.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures,
0:47:20 > 0:47:24believes this portrait is Augusta's manifesto
0:47:24 > 0:47:27for becoming the matriarch of the Georgian dynasty.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30What do you think Augusta's motivation was,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32getting all this put together?
0:47:32 > 0:47:35First of all, this is a portrait of a widow,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39painted in the same year that her husband has died.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41They're looking quite cheerful.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43I think it's difficult immediately to understand that,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45except I think that the idea is
0:47:45 > 0:47:48that you wear a black veil, of course, for form's sake,
0:47:48 > 0:47:52but your duties of looking after your children
0:47:52 > 0:47:56and looking after the realm continue
0:47:56 > 0:47:58and you might as well undertake them in a cheerful way.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Is she saying, "Look, he may be dead, but his work continues"?
0:48:01 > 0:48:05I'm sure that's exactly the message. "I'm carrying the flame."
0:48:05 > 0:48:08It makes me think almost of a piece of propaganda for an election.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11- "This is the team. Vote for us." - Exactly!
0:48:11 > 0:48:14On one side, you have the role of the monarch,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17represented here by the late heir to the throne, Frederick,
0:48:17 > 0:48:20the Prince of Wales, and, on the other side, you have Britannia,
0:48:20 > 0:48:22that being the constitution.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24And what's going on underneath Britannia?
0:48:24 > 0:48:25That's all very significant.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28That's the key, I think, to the entire allegory.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30There are some scales,
0:48:30 > 0:48:34and exactly balanced in the scales are the crown and the cap of liberty.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38The emblem of Britain, the lion, is holding another cap of liberty.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41So, if you want to take away the liberty of the British people,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43you've got a lion to fight with.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47The mere fact of presenting the royal family
0:48:47 > 0:48:51in this ingratiating fashion is an expression of British liberty.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54What of the significance of the activities of the children?
0:48:54 > 0:48:58- They're doing things that make Britain great, aren't they?- Yes.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02Yes. In this era, there was a convention that naval power
0:49:02 > 0:49:04was protective of liberty,
0:49:04 > 0:49:08whereas the power of a standing army
0:49:08 > 0:49:11was sometimes thought to threaten liberty.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13So, I think it is important
0:49:13 > 0:49:17that they're engaged in the defence of the realm,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20but it's specifically in the naval defence of the realm.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28Augusta was continuing Frederick's legacy,
0:49:28 > 0:49:33promoting the patriot philosophy of liberty and a strong navy,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36controlled here from the headquarters of the admiralty.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Britain was now the largest naval power in the world.
0:49:43 > 0:49:44But this was turning us into
0:49:44 > 0:49:48a nation greedy for territory and conquest.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Our continued skirmishes with the French
0:49:52 > 0:49:55built towards a new and global conflict,
0:49:55 > 0:49:57the Seven Years' War.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Britain was empire-building.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05We weren't content with our 13 colonies in the Americas.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09We wanted more. And this wasn't just a land grab.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12It was a war over trade and trading routes.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15I'm not exaggerating when I say that the question at stake here
0:50:15 > 0:50:19was global dominance by the British or by the French.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22So, the fighting was played out in America,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25but also in Africa, in India,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28and down here in the Philippines, with the Battle of Manila.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Winston Churchill came up with a good name for this conflict,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34the Seven Years' War.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37He called it "the First World War".
0:50:40 > 0:50:44Ever the old soldier, the king went into battle mode,
0:50:44 > 0:50:47coordinating army tactics with his favourite lieutenant,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49the Duke of Cumberland.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55He took to shuffling around the palace in the same old coat
0:50:55 > 0:50:58he'd worn at the Battle of Dettingen,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02and he sent an army into Europe to face the French.
0:51:02 > 0:51:03But it went badly.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08George II was out of touch.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Wars were no longer won by kings on horseback leading from the front.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18What was happening in Europe was a bit of a sideshow.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22This statue shows George II dressed as a Roman emperor.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26And this was the context in which he used the word "empire",
0:51:26 > 0:51:27when he was talking about history,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29when he was talking about the Romans.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33The politician William Pitt, on the other hand, understood
0:51:33 > 0:51:37that Britain could aspire to have an empire in the present day.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40Pitt knew that what was happening in Europe was important,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42but it wasn't the most important thing.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45What was at stake was domination of the globe.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Here's William Pitt, Secretary of State,
0:51:54 > 0:51:58at home at Chatham House. He was to become Earl of Chatham.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02Never short of confidence,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Pitt took military strategy firmly in hand.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11His opening gambit was, "I am sure I can save this country
0:52:11 > 0:52:13"and no-one else can."
0:52:16 > 0:52:19During this time, poor old William Pitt was ill,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21so he had to stay at home here at Chatham House.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23And all the great and the good
0:52:23 > 0:52:26came trooping up to his bedroom to discuss strategy.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30There's a really nice picture of William Pitt being tucked up in bed
0:52:30 > 0:52:31and the room was very cold.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34So the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle,
0:52:34 > 0:52:36got into another bed on the other side of the room
0:52:36 > 0:52:39and together, the two of them lay there,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41shaping British foreign policy.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44It was here that Pitt came up with his masterstroke -
0:52:44 > 0:52:47to use both the Army and the Navy.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50He sent the British troops to the Continent
0:52:50 > 0:52:52to tie down the French troops, to keep them busy.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56Meanwhile, he sent the British Navy all around the globe,
0:52:56 > 0:52:58snapping up French colonies.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05Oddly, it was only in the last gasp of George II's reign
0:53:05 > 0:53:07that these two elements,
0:53:07 > 0:53:10the Army of the king and Frederick's Navy,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12managed to come together,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15to coalesce in this defining war with the French.
0:53:19 > 0:53:241759 was the year of military miracles.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28With the triumph of all Pitt's plans,
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Britain effectively became a world superpower.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39George II was by now deaf and blind in one eye,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43but the old king provided an excellent focus for national celebration
0:53:43 > 0:53:46in what became known as the "annus mirabilis",
0:53:46 > 0:53:48the miraculous year.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53And, yet, his new empire was of little consolation
0:53:53 > 0:53:55to George personally.
0:53:57 > 0:54:02In his youth, George II had suffered from these terrible temper tantrums.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05His rage had given him energy.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09But, as time went on, his friends started to die off.
0:54:09 > 0:54:15His children were dying, one by one, predeceasing him.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20As he grew older, he grew wiser and more contemplative.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23And, ironically, this happened at the very same time
0:54:23 > 0:54:27that Britain grew ever more powerful and successful.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33His beloved wife and five of his eight children were dead.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36His famous military zeal was ebbing away,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40and he regretted his former harshness and aggression.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46George II's empire, as it stood, would not exist for long.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53A generation later, Britain would have to deal with the next conflict,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55and the loss of America.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02We had denied our colonies the liberty we so highly valued,
0:55:02 > 0:55:06but Americans would want it badly enough to fight for it.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12This was a war George II would not live to see.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17He died on October 25th 1760,
0:55:17 > 0:55:20the last of the German-born Georgian kings
0:55:20 > 0:55:24who came over from Hanover to plug Britain's dynastic gap.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40The king who succeeded him couldn't have been more different.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44George II's grandson, George III,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48would reject everything his grandfather stood for
0:55:48 > 0:55:51to become the patriotic, British king
0:55:51 > 0:55:55his own father, Frederick, had never had the chance to be.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02This coach was designed for the coronation of George III.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06But, unfortunately, it was so fancy that it wasn't finished in time.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09It has been used at every coronation since.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13It weighs four tonnes, and it takes eight horses to pull it.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15But it isn't just a vehicle.
0:56:15 > 0:56:21It's also a sort of rolling manifesto for the British monarchy.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25George III's coach in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace
0:56:25 > 0:56:27depicts Britain's naval victories,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30at the precise moment of her greatest triumph
0:56:30 > 0:56:33in the Seven Years' War.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36If you want to see what ruling the waves looks like,
0:56:36 > 0:56:39here it is, in all of its gilded glory.
0:56:41 > 0:56:47Even Neptune and his four Tritons are on the side of the British.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52By the time we get to George III, the process of transplantation
0:56:52 > 0:56:56from Hanover to Britain is pretty much complete.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00And George III emphasised this. In his first public speech,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03he distanced himself from his father and his grandfather.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07"I was born and educated in this country," he said.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11"I glory in the name of Briton."
0:57:11 > 0:57:17# Zadok the Priest
0:57:17 > 0:57:21# And Nathan the Prophet... #
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Beyond all the bling and the bombast,
0:57:24 > 0:57:28this royal coach was saying that Britain's new king
0:57:28 > 0:57:32belonged to a confident and deep-rooted royal dynasty.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41The Hanoverians had seen off every single threat to their survival.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47The Georgian kings were like successful stepfathers to the nation.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50They'd been brought in and grafted on and yet,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54people began to accept them as part of the family,
0:57:54 > 0:57:57because of their killer advantages, their Protestantism,
0:57:57 > 0:57:59and the support of Parliament.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05People today often overlook the first two Georges,
0:58:05 > 0:58:09but actually, they were pretty successful as rulers.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Under them, Britain went from being a bit of a provincial backwater
0:58:13 > 0:58:15to a global superpower.
0:58:15 > 0:58:21And this coach stands for Britain's self-confidence in 1760.
0:58:21 > 0:58:25The Hanoverian dynasty was now secure.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28But isn't it funny to think that the British monarchy
0:58:28 > 0:58:31was made in Germany?
0:58:31 > 0:58:37# Zadok the Priest
0:58:37 > 0:58:45# And Nathan the Prophet
0:58:45 > 0:58:53# Anointed Solomon king. #