GERMANY. Hanover. Georg Ludwig, 1698-1727. Medallic 50 Ducats 1701 by S. Lambelet, Clausthal. 65 mm. Sophia of Hanover, heir to the throne of England. Obv. SOPHIA EX STIRPE EL PAL NEPT IAC I REG M BRIT VIDVA ERN AVG EL BRVNS ET L / ANGLIAE PRINCEPS AD SVCCESS – NOMINATA MDCCI. Bust right. Rev. MATILDA FILIA H II R ANGL VX H LEON D BAV ET SAX MATER OTT IV IMP PRIVS DVCIS AQVIT / H PAL RHEN D S WILLH – SATORIS DOMVS BRVNS. Bust right. Eimer 385; Brockmann 752. AU. 175.37 g. UNC edge bump light cleaning
Extremely rare and in good condition. A very impressive large gold medal and with a great interest for the History of the British monarchy.
In 1702, William III1 died and all Europe was attentive to the succession to the throne of England. The previous year, the Spanish War of Succession had just broken out. While on the other hand, England had imposed itself on the European chessboard as a Protestant leader, in contrast to the very Catholic Louis XIV. And above all, Prince William, the heir to William III, had died in 1700.
Following the Prince's death, King William III's heir was his sister-in-law Anne, (who would reign from 1702 to 1714), but it was feared that she would have no heir. Vigilant to ensure an enduring Protestant succession, William II passed the Act of Establishment, by which Sophia of Hanover2 became second in the order of succession, at the age of 71. William III died in 1702, and Anne succeeded him until 1714. But Anne's heiress, Sophia of Hanover, had died three months earlier! It was thus George, the son of the late Sophie, who would ascend to the throne of England: he became George I, the first King of the House of Hanover.3
On the obverse of this medal, her title is as follows: Sophia, from the family of the elector of the Palatinate, granddaughter of James I of Great Britain, widow of Ernest August Elector of Brunswick and Lunebourg, Princess appointed to the succession of England in 1701.
On the reverse is represented Matilda of England (1156-1189), daughter of Henry II (Plantagenet) and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was the wife of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and she gave birth to Otto IV, a Germanic Roman emperor. Her title translates as: Matilda, daughter of Henry II King of England, wife of Henry the Lion Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, mother of Emperor Otto IV, former Duke of Aquitaine, Henry Count Palatine of the Rhine, and William founder of the House of Brunswick.
There is another gold example of this medal, kept in the collections of the British Museum which was donated by King William IV in 1825.
Certainly, this medal is an inestimable milestone in the history of modern England. Of course, Sophia of Hanover was never Queen of England. But she embodies a decisive link in the creation of a royal house, that would become the ruling European and even world economic power of the 18th century, and political leader in the 19th century.

1 Stadtholder of Holland since 1672, he was King of England, Scotland and Ireland since 1689. He reigned alone since the death of Queen Mary II. His sister-in-law Anne, heiress to the throne, lost her only son, Prince William, in July 1700.
2 Sophia, a Consort Electress of Hanover and Duchess Consort of Brunswick-Lunebourg, was the daughter of Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate, and Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England. She grew up in the Netherlands, as did her cousin King William III, with whom she spoke Dutch and shared the Reformed faith.
3 Thus ends one hundred years of Stuart rule in England (this house was founded in 1371 by Robert of Scotland), since the reign of Charles I in 1603. George I reigned from 1714 to 1727, residing more often in Germany than in England, he allowed the political parties to become increasingly important in the management of the kingdom, thus laying the ground for democracy and the factor to the rise of Great Britain.