ABSTRACT
A substantial reassessment of the role of the monarchs has been central to the study of eighteenth-century British high politics in recent years. This reassessment has rested on an examination of the political position of the rulers, not on a reappraisal of the constitutional consequences of the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 and the subsequent Revolution Settlement. Foreign policy is important to this re-examination, for it was in that field that the monarchs were of greatest constitutional and political importance and were most concerned and active. This concern owed much to the foreign origin and continental commitments of William III (1689-1702) and the Hanoverians, especially George I (1714-27) and George II (1727-60). George III (17601820) was far less concerned with Hanoverian interests and continental commitments.
