Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales

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Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales (1707–51). Eldest son of George II and Queen Caroline; father of George III. For most of his life Frederick was at odds with his parents, and by the mid-1730s he had become a willing tool of opposition politicians, hopeful of serving him when he became king. Brought up in Hanover, he came to England in 1728. After his marriage in 1736 to Augusta of Saxe-Coburg, the king's refusal to grant him a fixed income provoked a dramatic rift and he was banned from court. He soon established a rival court at Leicester House which became an important meeting-ground for Walpole's leading opponents. After Walpole's fall from power, a period of uneasy reconciliation between father and son lasted until 1747, when Frederick and his Whig followers forged an alliance with the Tories. The ‘Leicester House group’ made a limited impact in Parliament, and broke up on the prince's sudden death in 1751.

Andrew Hanham

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Frederick Lewis, prince of Wales

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