[1] He rose in the service of the family, elevated after 1692 from Dukes to Electors of Hanover, performing a series of diplomatic missions.

This meant the distant Hanoverian branch of the family rather than her Catholic half-brother James Stuart, the Jacobite claimant.

[3] He grew to be a confidante of the British Queen Anne, and after her death in 1714, he spent his time burning her secret correspondence so that it would not fall into the hands of her enemies.

[5] In 1714, he was instrumental in securing the succession of the Hanoverian King George I to the throne, rather than the rival Jacobite claimant James III & VIII who possessed an arguably stronger blood claim.

In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the Royal Academy of Music, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from Handel, Bononcini and others.