The king could appoint any person he wished to his government. George I found it convenient to select influential members of Parliament to it. Such was the case of Robert Walpole.

The first years of George I’s reign were marked by the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 raised by followers of Queen Anne’s half-brother, James Edward Stuart. This prince is known as the Old Pretender because of his pretence to the throne.

Mary II and William III had no surviving children, and William was succeeded by Queen Anne, Mary’s younger sister. The major event of Queen Anne’s reign was the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.