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Despite the best efforts of Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa, members of the German Society made it to Hanover for an informative and enjoyable study weekend in September – a tradition of more than 20 years. After the usual get-together on Friday evening, the programme kicked off on Saturday morning with three excellent speakers. The first was Nicola Hayton, President of the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft Rhein-Neckar, who spoke on 'From Would-be Monarch to a Reluctant King: The role of family in the Hanoverian succession'. Her invaluable handout included a Stuart and Hanoverian family tree, to which I will continue to refer when memory fails. The story began with a talk she had given at the 2011 Study Weekend in Heidelberg on 'The Winter Queen' (daughter of James I) and her daughter Sophia. Against all the odds, Sophia 'did well for herself', and was mother to the man who became George I. Our first George didn't speak English, and came to Britain malgré lui, at a time when Europe was divided along religious lines. Many other aspirants to the throne were cast aside because they were not Protestants. George I was born in Hanover and George II visited, but George III never did, making his statement that he wished to be 'back in Hanover to get myself a belly full' all the more remarkable. Dr Thorsten Riotte of Goethe University Frankfurt spoke about whether this statement constituted a serious wish or an intention to abdicate (a controversial issue in academic circles). Speculation and criticism were rife at a time when Pitt the Younger was perceived to be pulling the strings in Britain and 'Farmer George' was prey to recurrent and severe illness, thought at the time to be insanity. While George III saw himself as a Hanoverian prince, he was born and bred in England and 'gloried in the name of Briton'. However, 32 The Linguist DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015 www.ciol.org.uk INSTITUTE MATTERS DIVISIONS & SOCIETIES A succession of Hanoverian delights SALLY LAMM REFLECTS ON AN INSIGHTFUL GERMAN SOCIETY STUDY WEEKEND Study weekend, 4-6 September, Cambridge Joint event, continuing a long tradition of German Society visits to and from the Cambridge Society. Save the date Thorsten concluded that he did not think there had been a real threat of abdication. Finally, Andrew Thompson, Director of Studies at Queens' College Cambridge, addressed us on 'Fathers and Sons: Politics, argument and family among the Hanoverians'. The backdrop was the all-too- vivid memory of regicide; the role of a strong, hierarchical church; and the equation of Catholicism with foreign rule. It is often claimed that the Hanoverian father-son disagreements had psychological origins (George II, for example, responded strongly when George I banished his wife), but Andrew saw other reasons as well. There was no clearly defined role for the Prince of Wales, and each one sought to carve out his own niche. The strained relationship between family man George III and his wayward son, subsequently George IV, tended to push people into one or the other camp. As far as I was concerned, the speakers could all have talked for much longer. Throughout the weekend, there was a sense of plus ça change in the world of Royalty and politics – not least at the Wilhelm Busch Museum's exhibition of political cartoons from the Hanoverian age to the present day. TRIP HIGHLIGHTS: (Clockwise from left): Fireworks at Herrenhausen Garden; participants pose for a group photo; and views over the city © HMTG/M AHRAMZADEH © HMTG / KIRCHNER