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House of Windsor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
House of Windsor
Country United Kingdom
Parent house House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a branch of the House of Wettin
Titles Various
Founder George V
Current head Elizabeth II
Founding year 1917
Ethnicity British
The House of Windsor is the current Royal House of the United Kingdom and each of the other Commonwealth realms. The royal house was founded by George V by a royal proclamation in 1917. The House of Windsor remains one of the only dynasties to have ruled over lands on all continents of the world simultaneously. The current head of the House of Windsor is Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch over the Commonwealth realms.
Descendants of Victoria
Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha – son of Duke Ernst I of the small German duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her descendants were also members of the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a minor branch of the thousand year old House of Wettin. Victoria's son, Edward VII, and, in turn, his son, George V, reigned as members of this house.
However, high anti-German sentiment amongst the people of the British Empire during World War I prompted the King and his family to abandon all titles held under the German Crown, and to change German sounding titles and house names to English sounding versions. Hence, on 17 July 1917, a Royal Proclamation issued by George V provided that he and all his agnatic descendants would be members of the House of Windsor, with the personal surname Windsor if they did not have a title. The name had a long association with royalty, through the town of Windsor and Windsor Castle, a link reflected in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle being the basis of the badge of the House of Windsor. On the same day, Prince Louis of Battenberg adopted the surname Mountbatten, which is the literal translation into English. Prince Louis is the maternal grandfather of The Duke of Edinburgh.
Upon hearing that his cousin had changed the name of the British royal house to Windsor, German Emperor Wilhelm II remarked jokingly that he planned to see Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The two cousins were photographed riding horses together in 1910 in at the funeral of George's father, Edward VII (Photo of Kings 1910), and again at Potsdam Palace three years later.(Photo of Kings 1913)
Descendants of Elizabeth II
When Queen Elizabeth married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, the standard practice would be to adopt his family household name. Because he was a prince, Prince Philip did not have a surname but he was of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a minor brach of the House of Oldenburg. Not wishing to repeat the difficulties of three decades ago, before his marriage Prince Philip renounced his titles and adopted the surname, Mountbatten, which his maternal grandfather had created in 1917.
In her British Privy Council, on 9 April 1952, Queen Elizabeth II officially declared her "Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that my descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor."[1]. On 8 February 1960, the Queen confirmed that she and her children would continue to be known as the House and Family of Windsor, as would any agnatic descendants who enjoy the style of His/Her Royal Highness, and the title of prince or princess.[1] Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor,[1].
Any future monarch can change the dynastic name through a similar royal proclamation, but it is not anticipated that HRH The Prince of Wales will change the name of the royal family.
Complete List of Members the House of Windsor
CA means Catholic
LG means legitimated by subsequent marriage
(LG+) first generation or (LG-) later generation Gen. Succession Name Birth (& Death) Image
0 Dead HM George V founder 3 June 1865(1865-06-03)
20 January 1936 (aged 70)
1 Dead HM Edward VIII (later HRH The Duke of Windsor) 23 June 1894(1894-06-23)
28 May 1972 (aged 77)
1 Dead HM George VI 14 December 1895(1895-12-14)
6 February 1952 (aged 56)
2 sovereign HM The Queen, Elizabeth II 26 April 1926 (1926-04-26)
3 #1 HRH The Prince of Wales 14 November 1948 (1948-11-14)
4 #2 HRH Prince William of Wales 21 June 1982 (1982-06-21)
4 #3 HRH Prince Henry of Wales 15 September 1984 (1984-09-15)
3 #4 HRH The Duke of York 19 February 1960 (1960-02-19)
4 #5 HRH Princess Beatrice of York 8 August 1988 (1988-08-08)
4 #6 HRH Princess Eugenie of York 23 March 1990 (1990-03-23)
3 #7 HRH The Earl of Wessex 10 March 1964 (1964-03-10)
4 #8 Viscount Severn 17 December 2007 (2007-12-17) image
4 #9 Lady Louise Windsor 8 November 2003 (2003-11-08) image
3 #10 HRH The Princess Royal 15 August 1950 (1950-08-15)
