Studio of Sir Geoffrey Kneller, Bt, King George I, oil on canvas, 1714, 756 x 635mm.

Studio of Sir Geoffrey Kneller, Bt, King George I, oil on canvas, 1714, 756 x 635mm.

© National Portrait Gallery, London; picturelibrary@npg.org.uk

Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover, bypassed over fifty individuals closer to Queen Anne to take the English throne because he was a protestant and they were not. Formerly Handel's employer for his post as Kapellmeister in Hanover, he went on to employ Handel again as Composer to the Chapel Royal in London.