Goodbye King George II
King George II died 25 Oct 1760, aged 76. As of Thursday 11 Dec 1760, the last day of House of Burgesses session, there is no mention of his passing
Of his end days Wikipedia states: "By October 1760 George II was blind in one eye and hard of hearing.[117] On the morning of 25 October he rose as usual at 6:00 am, drank a cup of hot chocolate, and went to his close stool alone. After a few minutes, his valet heard a loud crash and entered the room to find the King on the floor;[118] his physician, Frank Nicholls, recorded that he "appeared to have just come from his necessary-stool, and as if going to open his escritoire".[119]
The King was lifted into his bed, and Princess Amelia was sent for; before she reached him, he was dead. At the age of nearly 77 he had lived longer than any of his English or British predecessors.[120] A post-mortem revealed that George had died as the result of a thoracic aortic dissection.[119][121] He was succeeded by his grandson George III, and buried on 11 November in Westminster Abbey. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle.[122] Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_II_of_Great_Britain#Death
Winchester Virginia was under his rule. He and his Privy Council picked the Virginia Governor and Lt Governor. Many counties in Virginia were named from the title this King had. Brunswick and Lunenburg Counties are named for a region of Hanover Germany this King ruled.
Our Frederick County is named after his son. Augusta County is named after his son's wife. His son dies of complications maybe from a cricket accident. That left the grandson, The grandson of King George II became the next King, known famously to us as King George III. That Grandson wanted the French and Indian War to end soon in order to fix the growing debt.
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So, King George II dies but the colonies don't know yet.
When did Virginia House of Burgesses or the Executive Council know?
As of Thursday 11 Dec 1760 which was the last day of the House session, no message of his demise was given either to the House or to the Council.
The picture closest to his passing is this one painted by Robert Edge Pine.
How long does it take?
How long does a ship go against the wind and the currents leaving England for the colonies?
The voyages to Jamestown generally took 3 to 5 months. But then it got whittled down to 2.5 months in 1609. Then, by 1760? Maybe a little over a month to 2 months, and by 1776 an average of 1 month. See more on those travel times here.
When did Virginia make Notice?
The Lt Governor Francis Fauquier on 11 Feb 1761 communicated to the Council a Letter from the Lords of Trade dated October 31 , 1760, about the King's passing.
The House of Burgesses took notice of the King's passing officially, not until they met Thursday 5 March 1761.
Lt Gov Francis Fauquier and the Council and the House of Burgesses met together in Council chambers.
The announcement of the death of King George II occurred upstairs on the left.
Great Williamsburg site tour:
WHY NO KING FREDERICK NEXT?
Our Frederick County Virginia is named after the son of King George II who should have been the next King. See why here.
Intead, Frederick's son became the next King -- King George III.
He also held title as King of France. That title to the King of Englad got dropped in 1801. See story on that.
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
Skip around.
Read bits and pieces
Compiled by Jim Moyer 11/15/2024, 11/30/2024, 12/1/2024
Table of Contents
Council Announcement 11 Feb 1761
House of Burgessess Announcement 5 March 1761
How long does it take?
How long does a ship go against the wind and the currents leaving England for the colonies?
The voyages to Jamestown generally took 3 to 5 months. But then it got whittled down to 2.5 months in 1609. Then, by 1760? Maybe a little over a month to 2 months, and by 1776 an average of 1 month.
n early 1609, Captain Samuel Argall, as an employee of the London Company, was commissioned to develop a shorter, more direct route for sailing from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the colony at Jamestown.[25] He was also ordered to fish for sturgeon on the voyage.[26] Rather than following the normal practice of going south to the tropics and west with the trade winds, Argall, aboard Mary and John, sailed west from the Azores to the Bermuda area, then almost due west to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This voyage took only nine weeks and six days, including two weeks becalmed (compared to the three to five months of previous fleets), enabling the English to save on provisions and to also avoid hostile Spanish ships. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown_supply_missions#Samuel_Argall
How long did it take to travel by ship from England to America in the 1700s?
Depending on the weather conditions, the voyage itself lasted typically 6–10 weeks. The cost of a passage could be £3 – £9. However, many emigrants went out as indentured servants and paid their passage through working for an agreed period after they arrived in America.
and in 1776?
18th Century Sailing times
At a Council held February the 11th 1761
John Blair William Nelson
Present
The Governour
Thomas Nelson Richard Corbin Esqrs
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The Governour communicated to the Council a Letter from the Lords of Trade dated October 31 , 1760 inclosing an Order from the Lords of his Majesty's most Honorable Privy Council notifying to him the Death of our late Gracious sovereign Lord King George of ever blessed Memory , and directing him to proclaim the High and Mighty Prince George , Prince of Wales , King of Great Britain , France and Ireland , and of all the Dominions thereunto belonging & c according to the following Form
Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to call to his Mercy our late sovereign Lord King George the second of Blessed and Glorious Memory , by whose Decease the Imperial Crown of Great Britain France and Ireland , as also the supreme Dominion and sovereign right of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia , and all other his late Majesty's Dominions in America , are solely and rightfully come
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178 Executive Journals , Council of Colonial Virginia
to the High and Mighty Prince George Prince of Wales : We there- fore , the Lieutenant Governour and Council with numbers of the Principal Inhabitants and Planters of this Colony and Dominion , do now hereby with one full voice and consent of Tongue and Heart , publish and proclaim that the High and mighty Prince George Prince of Wales is now by the Death of our late Sovereign , of happy and Glorious Memory become our only lawful and rightful liege Lord , George the 3d by the Grace of God King of Great Britain , France and Ireland , Defender of the Faith , Supreme Lord of the said Colony and Dominion of Virginia , and all other his late Majesty's Teritories and Dominions in America , to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and constant obedience , with all humble and hearty submission , beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign , to bless the royal King George the third with long and happy Years to reign over us .
And recommending to his Honour , that he proceed without loss of Time to the Execution of these Orders , and to return to their Lordships a speedy account of his proceedings herein .
Also his Majesty's Warrant authorising him to make use of the old seal of the Province until a new one can be prepared .
Also his Majesty's Proclamation dated the 27th of October last continuing all Officers in the Plantations civil and Military in their respective Employments till his Majesty's Pleasure shall be further signified .
Also his Majesty's Order in Council of the 31st of October direct- ing that in all the Prayers for the Royal Family instead of the words ( their Royal Highnesses George Prince of Wales , the Princess Dowager of Wales , the Duke , the Princesses , and all the Royal Family ) there should be inserted ( Her Royal Highness the Princess Dowager of Wales , and all the Royal Family . )
These being severally read , the Governour took the Oaths ap- pointed to be taken by Act of Parliament instead of the Oaths of Allegiance and sup [ r ] emacy and the abjuration Oath , subscribed the Test , and took the Oath for the Faithful discharge of the Office of Governour , and due observation of the Acts of Trade ; which said Oaths were administred to him by John Blair , William Nelson , and
#197 (p.179)
Executive Journals , Council of Colonial Virginia 179
Thomas Nelson Esqrs . three of the Members of his Majesty's Council .
Then his Honour administred to the Members of the Council present the Oaths appointed to be taken instead of the Oaths of Allegiance and sup [ r ] emacy , the abjuration Oath , and the Test , with the Oath of a Counsellor .
John Blair Esqr . Deputy - Auditor took the Oath for the due Execution of the said Office .
Thomas Nelson Esqr . Secretary of this his Majesty's Colony and Dominion took the Oath for the faithful Execution of that Office .
Nathaniel Walthoe Esqr . Clerk of the Council took the Oaths of Allegiance and sup [ r ] emacy , the abjuration Oath , subscribed the Test , and took the Oath for the faithful discharge of his Office , which Oaths were administered to him by Thomas Nelson and Richard Corbin Esqrs .
It is ordered that his Majesty King George the third be publicly and solemnly proclaimed tomorrow at the Capitol , the Market Place , and the College ; that the Militia of the City appear under Arms , and that the Mayor and Corporation thereof , and the Masters and Students of the College be required to attend the solemnity .
Ordered , That a proclamation issue commanding the High Sher- iffs , Justices of the Peace and other Officers to cause his present Majesty to be proclaimed in the Respective Counties within this Colony with all convenient speed .
Ordered , That his Majesty's Proclamation continuing all Officers in their respective employments be published in the Virginia Gazette . Ordered , That his Majestys Order in Council for an alteration in the Prayers for the Royal Family be signified to all the Clergy in this Colony .
The Governour was pleased to lay before the Board a Letter from Colo . Hunter dated little England January the 31st informing that Captain Edward Blake of the Boston Provincials from Lousisbourg bound to Boston with 120 Troops on Board had arrived in that Port , having met with very bad weather , been two Months at Sea and expended all their Provisions , and desired to know his pleasure in regard to assisting them . His Honour acquainted the Council that
#198 (p.180)
180 Executive Journals , Council of Colonial Virginia
upon receipt of this Letter he had given Orders to Colo . Hunter to supply these men with Provisions and what is absolutely necessary to enable them to proceed to Boston , and to subsist them in the most frugal manner till the Captain shall judge it adviseable for them to set sail ; and that he had writ to General Amherst and Governour Bernard to be instructed how this Colony is to be reimbursed the Expenses they shall incurr on this incident .
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House of Burgesses Announcement
The House of Burgesses took notice of the King's passing officially, not until they met Thursday 5 March 1761.
Mr Speaker, with the House, went up accordingly ; and being returned reported that he, with the House, had attended the Govemour in the Council Chamber, where his Honour Honour was pleased to make a Speech to the Council and this House, of which he had to prevent Mistakes, obtained a Copy ; which he read to the House, and then delivered in at the Table, where it was again read, and is as follows :
Lt Gov Fauquier delivered his message to a joint session of House of Burgess and the Council, being read out loud:
I should have omitted the calling you up on this your meeting according to your Adjournment, were it not incumbent on me to notify to you, now met in General Assembly, the great Loss we have sustained by the Decease of our late Sovereign, of happy and glorious Memory; a King who, by his private as well as royal Virtues, had rendered himself justly dear to all his Subjects.
Deplorable indeed would our Loss have been, had we not the greatest Reason to form the most sanguine Expectations of enjoying the Blessing of Freedom, in the same full Latitude we experienced under the Grandfather, in the Person of his Successor, his present Majesty;
a Prince descended from that royal Family who have used the Prerogative of their Crowns with the utmost Tenderness and under whose Government the Liberty of the Subject has not suffered the least Attack, during a Term of fix and forty Years, since their first Accession to the Crown;
a Period of Happiness to Great Britain, and its Appendages, which the British Annals cannot parallel;
a Prince born among us, who has himself been a Witness of the Blessings flowing to Sovereign and Subject from a due Mixture of Liberty and Obedience;
a Prince who, from his Education, has imbibed the Strongest Notions of Virtue and true Religion; to countenance and encourage which, he has from the Throne assured us, is his fixed Purpose.
On this Authority, I can promise you a continuation of that Justice and Lenity which you have felt under the Government and Authority of his royal Progenitors.
The only Instance of Gratitude you can show for the Blessings you have fo long enjoyed under our deceased Monarch, will be your Zeal in the Service of the present; and this Consideration, with a grateful People, will, I make no Doubt, render it needless for me to recommend it further.
Notice the mention of Freedom:
. Lt Governor Fauquier mentions the freedoms we enjoy under this King and hopes for the same blessing of freedom under the next . . . .
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Odd Painting of King George II
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Painting is by Robert Edge Pine.
Portrait of King George II (1683-1760), 1750s
Oil on paper 18 x 14 inches (45.72 x 35.66 cm).
Pine's portrayal of King George II must be counted as a revolutionary depiction of the sovereign.
It cannot be classed as an informal portrait, since the King's costume and the conventional evocation of a palatial interior all allude to the most formal royal portraiture.
The King's attitude was suggested by a moment when the artist observed him to turn to address an attendant at the head of a staircase. Despite what has become the orthodoxy, the architecture in this painting cannot be intended to depict the setting of that incident -the King's Stair at Kensington Palace- with any precision, but the spontaneous ''true to life" mood is still present.
It is unclear who commissioned Pine to execute this avant garde image.
The final version, for which this and two other small works on paper appear to be studies, remained in the artist's possession until 1784, the year of his departure for America, when it was bought by Sir John Griffin, later Lord Howard de Walden.
Pine's bill for this purchase -preserved in Essex Record Office, cited Manners and Morals Tate 1987 p.238- states that ''It has been universally allowed to be the most like of any in being.''
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Stories on King George II and III
Prince of Wales - the future King George III is 21 in 1759
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King George II - what's he look like in 1758?
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What's our future King George III doing in 1758?
Braddock and King George II and III - their official titles
Hallejuha - King George II stood up?
King George III Monday July 6, 1747
What was in their Title?
KING GEORGE II
King George II's full style was "George the Second, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire".[138]
KING GEORGE III
In Great Britain, King George III used the official style "George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so forth". In 1801, when Great Britain united with Ireland, he dropped the title of king of France, which had been used for every English monarch since Edward III's claim to the French throne in the medieval period.[97] His style became "George the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith."[131]
In Germany, he was "Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Arch-Treasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire" (Herzog von Braunschweig und Lüneburg, Erzschatzmeister und Kurfürst des Heiligen Römischen Reiches[132]) until the end of the empire in 1806. He then continued as duke until the Congress of Vienna declared him "King of Hanover" in 1814.[131]
Why is France included?
Weren't there a lot of English Kings living in France before Edward III ?
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Yes
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Anjou
30 year reign of Henry II
Peter O Toole did 2 movies of this King
Early years of the kIng fight Beckett
Later years arguing with his imprisoned wife, Katherine Hepburn, Queen of Aquitaine
One of his sons was Richard the Lion Hearted
The Angevins (from the French term meaning "from Anjou") ruled over the Angevin Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries, an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland. They did not regard England as their primary home until most of their continental domains were lost by King John
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Plantagenets
50 yr reign of King Edward III
coincided with Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy in Avignon.
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he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1337.
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King Henry V
1415 hero of the battle of Agincourt
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King Henry VI
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Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc[3][4]pronounced [ʒan daʁk]; c. 1412 – 30 May 1431),[5] nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans
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Ending the claim on France
The French Revolution overthrew and abolished the monarchy on 21 September 1792 and replaced it with the French Republic. In the War of the First Coalition British–French negotiations were held in Lille from July to November 1797.
The French demanded dropping the title; James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury was prepared to omit it from the king's signature to the envisaged peace treaty but had not conceded further by the time the talks collapsed.[4]
In the Commons' discussion of the negotiations, Sir John Sinclair called the demand "frivolous" and "hardly worth contending for";[5]
William Pitt the Younger called the title "a harmless feather, at most, in the crown of England";[6] French Laurence called it an "ancient dignity" the ceding of which would lose honour and bring disgrace.[7] In 1800, the Act of Union joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
George III chose this opportunity to drop his claim to the now defunct French throne, whereupon the fleurs de lis, part of the coat of arms of all claimant Kings of France since the time of Edward III, was also removed from the British royal arms. Britain recognised the French Republic by the Treaty of Amiens of 1802.
The change was not acknowledged by Jacobite claimant Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart. He continued to formally style himself King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland until his death on 13 July 1807.
Although the fleurs-de-lys were completely removed from the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, they were later included in the arms of Canada, the British dominion, where they symbolise the heritage of the French Canadians, rather than the former British claim to the French throne.[8]
While the position of King of France was restored in 1814 (and later abolished for the final time in 1848) subsequent British monarchs did not pursue the claim to the French throne.
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Compiled by Jim Moyer 2019, updated 11/21/2023
House of Burgess Sessions
Before and After King George II death
1758 to 1761,
Volume 9
September 14, 1758 to April 10 , 1761
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December 12, 1759 letter from Committee of Correspondence to English Agent Edward Montague
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Colonel George Washington was elected July 24, 1758 with Thomas Bryan Martin are listed as representing Frederick County
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7th Session
page 183, October 6, 1760 to Dec 11, 1760, and then March 5, 1761 to April 10 , 1761
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King George III assumes the throne 25 Oct 1760.
This causes a new election of a new set of Burgesses, once they receive this news across the Atlantic.
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1761 to 1765,
Volume 10
November 4, 1761 to June 1, 1765
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1st Session
page 5, November 3, 1761 to November 14, 1761
George Washington was elected May 18, 1761 with his former aid de camp George Mercer to represent Frederick County VA, but this list shows George Washington was absent for the first session.
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No King Frederick?
Our Frederick County Virginia is named after the son of King George II who should have been the next King. See why here.
The answer is in here:
Frederick County VA Birthday
Posted Dec 20, 2020
More stories on Frederick County Virginia:
FREDERICK COUNTY RESOLVES 1774
Posted May 23, 2024
Dissolve Hampshire Co back into Frederick Co VA
Posted May 14, 2023
Washington's land in Frederick County
Posted Jul 30, 2016
Frederick the Great felt like as low as possible
He is not the Frederick, our Frederick County Virginia is named after
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Posted Mar 12, 2022
The Capitol Bldg in Williamsburg
Great Williamsburg site tour:
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