House of Windsor

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House of Windsor
Badge of the House of Windsor.svg
Badge of the House of Windsor
Parent houseSaxe-Coburg and Gotha
(Cadet branch of Wettin)
CountryUnited Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
Founded17 July 1917; 104 years ago (1917-07-17)
FounderGeorge V
Current headElizabeth II
MembersList
Cadet branchesMountbatten-Windsor
(by cognatic descent)

The House of Windsor is the reigning royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. In 1901, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (a branch of the House of Wettin) succeeded the House of Hanover to the British monarchy with the accession of King Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1917, the name of the royal house was changed from the anglicised German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor because of anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I.[1] There have been four British monarchs of the House of Windsor since then: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, and Elizabeth II.

The current head of the house is monarch of sixteen sovereign states. These are the United Kingdom (where they are based), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. As well as these separate monarchies, there are also three Crown dependencies, fourteen British Overseas Territories and two associated states of New Zealand.

Background[]

"A Good Riddance"; cartoon from Punch, Vol. 152, 27 June 1917, commenting on the King's order to relinquish all German titles held by members of his family

Edward VII and, in turn, his son, George V, were members of the German ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by virtue of their descent from Albert, Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria, the last British monarch from the House of Hanover. High anti-German sentiment amongst the people of the British Empire during World War I reached a peak in March 1917, when the Gotha G.IV, a heavy aircraft capable of crossing the English Channel, began bombing London directly and became a household name. In the same year, on 15 March, King George's first cousin, Nicholas II, the Emperor of Russia, was forced to abdicate, which raised the spectre of the eventual abolition of all the monarchies in Europe. The King and his family were finally persuaded to abandon all titles held under the German Crown and to change German titles and house names to anglicised versions. Hence, on 17 July 1917, a royal proclamation issued by George V declared:

Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor....[2]

The name had a long association with monarchy in Britain, through the town of Windsor, Berkshire, and Windsor Castle; the link is alluded to in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle being the basis of the badge of the House of Windsor. It was suggested by Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham.[3] Upon hearing that his cousin had changed the name of the British royal house to Windsor and in reference to Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, German Emperor Wilhelm II remarked jokingly that he planned to see "The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha".[4]

George V also restricted the use of British princely titles to his nearest relations,[5] and in 1919, he stripped three of his German relations of their British titles and styles.[6]

List of monarchs[]

See also: List of British monarchs
Portrait Name Birth Reign Coronation Spouse Death Claim
George V of the united Kingdom.jpg George V 3 June 1865
Marlborough House 		6 May 1910
–
20 January 1936[7]
(25 years, 260 days)		 22 June 1911 Mary of Teck 20 January 1936
Sandringham House
(aged 70 years, 230 days)		 Son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark
Edward VIII Portrait - 1936.jpg Edward VIII 23 June 1894
White Lodge, Richmond Park 		20 January 1936
–
11 December 1936
(10 months, 21 days)		 Cancelled Wallis Simpson 28 May 1972
4 Route du Champ d'Entraînement
(aged 77 years, 340 days)		 Son of George V and Mary of Teck
King George VI.jpg George VI 14 December 1895
York Cottage 		11 December 1936
–
6 February 1952
(15 years, 57 days)		 12 May 1937 Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 6 February 1952
Sandringham House
(aged 56 years, 54 days)		 Son of George V and Mary of Teck
Queen Elizabeth II 1959.jpg Elizabeth II 21 April 1926
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair 		6 February 1952
–
present
(69 years, 205 days)		 2 June 1953 Philip Mountbatten Living
(age 95 years, 131 days)		 Daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth IIGeorge VIEdward VIIIGeorge V

Members[]

Members of the House of Windsor on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, 15 June 2013. Left to right: Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester; Lady Rose Gilman; Prince Michael of Kent; Princess Michael of Kent; Lady Louise Windsor; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; James, Viscount Severn; Sophie, Countess of Wessex; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Queen Elizabeth II; Princess Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Princess Eugenie of York; Princess Beatrice of York; Prince Edward, Duke of Kent; Katharine, Duchess of Kent
See also: List of members of the House of Windsor

The 1917 proclamation stated that the name of the Royal House and all British descendants of Victoria and Albert in the male line were to bear the name of Windsor, except for women who married into other families.

Descendants of Elizabeth II[]

In 1947, Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II), heir presumptive to King George VI, married Philip Mountbatten (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark), a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg. A few months before his marriage, Philip abandoned his princely titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten, which was that of his uncle and mentor, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and had itself been adopted by Lord Mountbatten's father (Philip's maternal grandfather), Prince Louis of Battenberg, in 1917. It is the literal translation of the German Battenberg, which refers to Battenberg, a small town in Hesse.

Soon after Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, Lord Mountbatten observed that because it was the standard practice for the wife in a marriage to adopt her husband's surname, the House of Mountbatten now reigned. When Elizabeth's grandmother, Queen Mary, heard of this comment, she informed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and he later advised the Queen to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor. This she did on 9 April 1952, officially declaring it 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, other than female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor."[8] Philip privately complained, "I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."[9]

On 8 February 1960, some years after both the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, 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 Royal Highness and the title of prince or princess.[8] Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.[8]

This came after some months of correspondence between the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and the constitutional expert Edward Iwi. Iwi had raised the prospect that the royal child due to be born in February 1960 would bear "the Badge of Bastardy" if it were given its mother's maiden name (Windsor) rather than its father's name (Mountbatten). Macmillan had attempted to rebuff Iwi, until the Queen advised the acting Prime Minister[citation needed] Rab Butler in January 1960 that for some time she had had her heart set on a change that would recognise the name Mountbatten. She clearly wished to make this change before the birth of her child. The issue did not affect Prince Charles or Princess Anne, as they had been born with the name Mountbatten, before the Queen's accession to the throne.[10] Prince Andrew was born 11 days later, on 19 February 1960.

Any future monarch can change the dynastic name through a similar royal proclamation, as royal proclamations do not have statutory authority.[11]

Family tree[]

See also: Windsor British monarchs' family tree
  • People identified by title; refer to those holding the title as of July 2021
  • Black-framed persons are deceased.
hideFamily tree
King
George V		Queen Mary
King Edward VIII[a]King George VIQueen ElizabethPrincess Mary, Princess RoyalPrince Henry, Duke of GloucesterPrincess Alice, Duchess of GloucesterPrince George, Duke of KentPrincess Marina, Duchess of KentPrince John
Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghThe QueenPrincess Margaret, Countess of SnowdonPrince William of GloucesterThe Duke of GloucesterThe Duchess of GloucesterThe Duke of KentThe Duchess of KentPrincess AlexandraPrince Michael of KentPrincess Michael of Kent
Diana, Princess of Wales
(div. 1996)		The Prince of WalesThe Duchess of CornwallThe Princess RoyalThe Duke of YorkSarah, Duchess of York
(div. 1996)		The Earl of WessexThe Countess of Wessex
The Duke of CambridgeThe Duchess of CambridgeThe Duke of SussexThe Duchess of SussexPrincess BeatricePrincess Eugenie
Prince George of CambridgePrincess Charlotte of CambridgePrince Louis of Cambridge

States reigned over[]

At the creation of the House of Windsor, its head reigned over the British Empire. Following the end of the First World War, however, shifts took place that saw the emergence of the Dominions of the British Commonwealth as independent states. The shift was recognised in the Balfour Declaration of 1926,[12][13] the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927,[14][15] and the Statute of Westminster 1931.[16][17] The Windsors became recognised as the royal family of multiple independent countries, a number that shifted over the decades, as some Dominions became republics and Crown colonies became realms, republics, or monarchies under a different sovereign.[18] Since 1949, two monarchs of the House of Windsor, George VI and Elizabeth II, have also been Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, comprising most (but not all) parts of the former British Empire and some states that were never part of it.[19][20][21]

Country Dates
Antigua and Barbuda 1981–present
Australia 1917–present
Bahamas 1973–present
Barbados 1966–present
Belize 1981–present
Canada 1917–present
Ceylon 1948–1972
Fiji 1970–1987
The Gambia 1965–1970
Ghana 1957–1960
Grenada 1974–present
Guyana 1966–1970
India 1947–1950
Irish Free State 1922–1949
Jamaica 1962–present
Malawi 1964–1966
Malta 1964–1974
Mauritius 1968–1992
New Zealand 1917–present
Nigeria 1960–1963
Dominion of Pakistan 1947–1956
Papua New Guinea 1975–present
Saint Kitts and Nevis 1983–present
Saint Lucia 1979–present
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1979–present
Sierra Leone 1961–1971
Solomon Islands 1978–present
South Africa 1917–1961
Tanganyika 1961–1962
Trinidad and Tobago 1962–1976
Tuvalu 1978–present
Uganda 1962–1963
United Kingdom 1917–present

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ After his abdication in 1936, King Edward VIII became the Duke of Windsor.

References[]

  1. ^ McGuigan, Jim (2001). "British identity and 'people's princess'". The Sociological Review. 48 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1111/1467-954X.00200. S2CID 144119572.
  2. ^ "No. 30186". The London Gazette. 17 July 1917. p. 7119.
  3. ^ "How did the royal family choose the name 'Windsor'?". History Extra. Immediate Media Company. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. ^ Carter, Miranda (2010), George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I, Random House, p. xxiii, ISBN 9780307593023
  5. ^ "Styles of the members of the British royal family: Documents". Heraldica. 30 November 1917.
  6. ^ "At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of March, 1919". London Gazette. His Majesty's Stationery Office. 28 March 1919. p. 4000.
  7. ^ George V was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until he changed the name of the royal house to Windsor on 17 July 1917.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Royal Styles and Titles of Great Britain: Documents". www.heraldica.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016.
  9. ^ Brandreth, Gyles (2004). Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage. p.253–254. London: Century. ISBN 0-7126-6103-4
  10. ^ Travis, Alan (18 February 1999). "Queen feared 'slur' on family", The Guardian Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 April 2014
  11. ^ The Royal Family name Archived 30 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Household, retrieved 24 April 2016
  12. ^ Clause II
  13. ^ Balfour Report
  14. ^ Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
  15. ^ "The Government of Great Britain and the Dominions and Colonies", Albert Edmond Hogan, Isabell Gladys Powell, Harold Plaskitt, D.M. Glew, University tutorial Press Limited, p. 238, 1939
  16. ^ Statute of Westminster, 1931, 22 Geo. V, c. 4, s. 4.
  17. ^ Statute of Westminster
  18. ^ Commonwealth members
  19. ^ The Commonwealth
  20. ^ London Declaration
  21. ^ Hardman, Robert (2018), Queen of the World, Random House, ISBN 9781473549647[page needed]

Bibliography[]

  • Longford, Elizabeth Harman (Countess of Longford). The Royal House of Windsor. Revised ed. Crown, 1984.
  • Roberts, Andrew. The House of Windsor. University of California Press, 2000.

External links[]

Royal House
House of Windsor
Preceded by
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

(Renamed House of Windsor by Royal Proclamation of 17 July 1917)

Ruling House of the United Kingdom
1917–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""