This elevation allowed the Electors of Hanover to participate in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor and significantly increased their political influence.

The Kingdom was granted to George III, who had ruled the Electorate of Hanover with the title of Prince-elector.

However, the dual monarchy system created complexities, especially as the British and Hanoverian thrones had separate succession laws.

Local resistance and regional loyalty led Hans von Hardenberg, the civil commissioner who oversaw the integration of Hanover into Prussia, to remark that: As a whole the Hanoverians are a tougher, less accommodating tribe than the Saxons.

Theirs is a solid ... national feeling.The protests of George V of Hanover and the local population proved to be an effective obstacle to Hanover's assimilation into Prussia, and led to the founding of the German-Hanoverian Party, which received 46.6% of the Hanoverian vote in the March 1871 Reichstag election.