House of Windsor

House of Windsor

Country	Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom
Ancestral house	Oldenburg → Glücksburg Wettin → Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Stuart → Hanover Welf → Este → Hanover
Titles	Various
Founder	George V
Current head	Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Founding	1917

The House of Windsor is the current Royal House of the United Kingdom and each of the other Commonwealth realms. It is a branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), which adopted the English name Windsor by a royal proclamation on the 17. July 1917. The most prominent member of the House of Windsor is Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch over the Commonwealth realms.^[1] However, the head of the House of Windsor (cadet branch of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) is Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as the senior male-line descendant of King George V, who founded the house by changing its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. The overall head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, including the Windsor branch, is Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The heir to the thrones of the Commonwealth realms, Charles, Prince of Wales, is a member of a distinct House of Windsor, a cadet branch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg as membership to European royal houses is determined by patrilineal descent.

Descendants of Victoria

"A Good Riddance". Propaganda cartoon from Punch, Vol. 152, 27 June 1917, commenting on the King having ordered the relinquishing of the German titles held by members of His Majesty's family.

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. It was Victoria's desire that her son rule as a member of the House of Wettin, instead of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, because she felt the older name would conjure images of the shared Saxon heritage of Germany and England. However, the name Wettin was never widely accepted. Victoria's son, Edward VII, and, in turn, his son, George V, reigned as members of this house.

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. The aircraft became a household name, and coincidently was part of the name of the royal family. These bombings were coupled with the abdication of King George's first cousin, Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia on 15 March 1917, which raised the specter of the eventual abolition of all the monarchies in Europe. The King and his family were finally convinced to abandon all titles held under the German Crown, and to change German titles and house names to anglicized 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...

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 name had a long association with British royalty, through the town of Windsor, Berkshire and Windsor Castle, a link reflected in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle being the basis of the badge of the House of Windsor. At the same time, Prince Louis of Battenberg adopted the surname Mountbatten, a partial translation into English. Prince Louis is the maternal grandfather of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Only a single person, Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who was not a descendant of George V, ever bore the surname Windsor, and he died without issue. So today the only living royal Windsors are the agnatic descendants of George V.

Descendants of Elizabeth II

Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom under the House of Windsor.

When Princess Elizabeth (as she then was) 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 branch of the House of Oldenburg. Not wishing to repeat the difficulties of three decades previous, before his marriage Prince Philip renounced his titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten, which his maternal grandfather had created in 1917.

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."^[2]. 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 (manner of address) of Royal Highness, and the title of Prince or Princess.^[2] Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.^[2]

Any future monarch can change the dynastic name through a similar royal proclamation, but the Prince of Wales has not signaled any intention either way. Even if the agnatic descendants of the Queen would retain the name Windsor, they are and will remain to be members of the House of Oldenburg.

Members of the House of Windsor

George V had five sons, their descendants are shown in the table. Two of the descendants are deceased, as of this writing (Princess Margaret and Prince William of Gloucester), and seven are Catholic. The other 39 are the initial people in the line of succession. CA means excluded from succession due to being Roman Catholic or having married a Catholic.

	Succ.#	Name	Birth (& Death)	Image
	Founder	HM George V	3 June 1865(1865-06-03) 20 January 1936(1936-01-20) (aged 70)
G-V	1st son HM Edward VIII (later HRH The Duke of Windsor) 23 June 1894(1894-06-23) 28 May 1972(1972-05-28) (aged 77) no descendants 2nd son HM George VI 14 December 1895(1895-12-14) 6 February 1952(1952-02-06) (aged 56) 2 Sovereign HM The Queen, Elizabeth II 21 April 1926 (1926-04-21) (age 84) 3 01 HRH The Prince of Wales 14 November 1948 (1948-11-14) (age 62) 4 02 HRH Prince William of Wales 21 June 1982 (1982-06-21) (age 28) 4 03 HRH Prince Harry of Wales 15 September 1984 (1984-09-15) (age 26) 3 04 HRH The Duke of York 19 February 1960 (1960-02-19) (age 50) 4 05 HRH Princess Beatrice of York 8 August 1988 (1988-08-08) (age 22) 4 06 HRH Princess Eugenie of York 23 March 1990 (1990-03-23) (age 20) 3 07 HRH The Earl of Wessex 10 March 1964 (1964-03-10) (age 46) 4 08 Viscount Severn 17 December 2007 (2007-12-17) (age 3) image 4 09 Lady Louise Windsor 8 November 2003 (2003-11-08) (age 7) image 3 10 HRH The Princess Royal 15 August 1950 (1950-08-15) (age 60) 4 11 Mr Peter Phillips 15 November 1977 (1977-11-15) (age 33) image 4 12 Miss Zara Phillips 15 May 1981 (1981-05-15) (age 29) image 2 died HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon 21 August 1930(1930-08-21) 9 February 2002(2002-02-09) (aged 71) 3 13 Viscount Linley 3 November 1961 (1961-11-03) (age 49) image 4 14 The Hon Charles Armstrong-Jones 1 July 1999 (1999-07-01) (age 11) 4 15 The Hon Margarita Armstrong-Jones 14 May 2002 (2002-05-14) (age 8) 3 16 Lady Sarah Chatto 1 May 1964 (1964-05-01) (age 46) image 4 17 Master Samuel Chatto 28 July 1996 (1996-07-28) (age 14) image 4 18 Master Arthur Chatto 5 February 1999 (1999-02-05) (age 12) image 3rd son HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester 31 March 1900(1900-03-31) 10 June 1974(1974-06-10) (aged 74) 2 Died HRH Prince William of Gloucester 18 December 1941(1941-12-18) 28 August 1972(1972-08-28) (aged 30) 2 19 HRH The Duke of Gloucester 26 August 1944 (1944-08-26) (age 66) 3 20 Earl of Ulster 24 October 1974 (1974-10-24) (age 36) image 4 21 Lord Culloden 12 March 2007 (2007-03-12) (age 3) 3 22 Lady Davina Lewis 19 November 1977 (1977-11-19) (age 33) image 3 23 Lady Rose Gilman 1 March 1980 (1980-03-01) (age 30) image 4th son HRH Prince George, Duke of Kent 20 December 1902(1902-12-20) 25 August 1942(1942-08-25) (aged 39) 2 24 HRH The Duke of Kent 9 October 1935 (1935-10-09) (age 75) 3 CA Earl of St Andrews 26 May 1962 (1962-05-26) (age 48) on left 4 CA Lord Downpatrick 2 December 1988 (1988-12-02) (age 22) image 4 CA Lady Marina Windsor 30 September 1992 (1992-09-30) (age 18) 4 25 Lady Amelia Windsor 24 August 1995 (1995-08-24) (age 15) 3 CA Lord Nicholas Windsor 25 June 1970 (1970-06-25) (age 40) image 4 CA Master Albert Windsor 22 September 2007 (2007-09-22) (age 3) 4 CA Leopold Windsor 8 September 2009 (2009-09-08) (age 1) 3 26 Lady Helen Taylor 28 April 1964 (1964-04-28) (age 46) image 4 27 Master Columbus Taylor 6 August 1994 (1994-08-06) (age 16) 4 28 Master Cassius Taylor 26 December 1996 (1996-12-26) (age 14) 4 29 Miss Eloise Taylor 2 March 2003 (2003-03-02) (age 7) 4 30 Miss Estella Taylor 21 December 2004 (2004-12-21) (age 6) 2 CA HRH Prince Michael of Kent 4 July 1942 (1942-07-04) (age 68) image 3 31 Lord Frederick Windsor 6 April 1979 (1979-04-06) (age 31) image 3 32 Lady Gabriella Windsor 23 April 1981 (1981-04-23) (age 29) image 2 33 HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy 25 December 1936 (1936-12-25) (age 74) image 3 34 Mr James Ogilvy 29 February 1964 (1964-02-29) (age 46) left 4 35 Miss Flora Ogilvy 15 December 1994 (1994-12-15) (age 16) 4 36 Master Alexander Ogilvy 12 November 1996 (1996-11-12) (age 14) 3 37 Mrs Marina Ogilvy 31 July 1966 (1966-07-31) (age 44) center 4 38 Mr Christian Mowatt 4 June 1993 (1993-06-04) (age 17) right 4 39 Miss Zenouska Mowatt 26 May 1990 (1990-05-26) (age 20) left 5th son HRH Prince John 12 July 1905(1905-07-12) 18 January 1919(1919-01-18) (aged 13) no descendants

Titles

Designation and details

At the creation of the House of Windsor, its head reigned over a unitary British Empire. Following the end of the First World War, however, geo-political shifts took place that saw the emergence of the dominions as sovereign states, the first step being the issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1926, followed by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act the next year, and the Statute of Westminster in 1931. From then on, the House of Windsor became the royal house of multiple countries, a number that shifted over the decades as various Dominions and Crown colonies gained independence, and various of those moved to become monarchies under a different sovereign or a republic. Since 1949, the head of the House of Windsor is also 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.

In the chart below, the countries are differentiated between light green (realms of the House of Windsor as dominions), medium green (present realms of the House of Windsor), and dark green (former realms of the House of Windsor).

			1920					1925					1930					1935					1940					1945					1950					1955					1960					1965					1970					1975					1980					1985					1990					1995					2000					2005					2010
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Ceylon
Fiji
The Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
Indian Empire
Union of India
Irish Free State
Jamaica
Kenya
Malawi
Malta
Mauritius
New Zealand
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Tanganyika
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Kingdom
			1920					1925					1930					1935					1940					1945					1950					1955					1960					1965					1970					1975					1980					1985					1990					1995					2000					2005					2010

List of Commonwealth realms monarchs

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Relationship with predecessor
	King Edward VII	22 January 1901	6 May 1910	son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
	King George V	6 May 1910	20 January 1936	son of Edward VII.
	King Edward VIII	20 January 1936	11 December 1936	son of George V; Abdicated.
	King George VI	11 December 1936	6 February 1952	son of George V & brother of abdicated Edward VIII.
	Queen Elizabeth II	6 February 1952	reigning	daughter of George VI.

Timeline of Monarchs

House of Windsor and the Line of Succession

George V (right) with his first cousin, Nicholas II, in 1913.

When the House of Windsor was created, the House of Windsor included George V and his children. However, there was no law passed to limit the Line of Succession. At this time the line was approaching a thousand people who were legitimately descended from George I and not disqualified by religion. In addition to the six Windsor children, the next five on the list were British. So, even considering the dangers of wartime, it was highly unlikely that a series of disasters would occur that resulted in the crown passing outside of the kingdom. Therefore it would not have been risky to limit the line to these eleven people.

The British members were followed by the royal members in Norway and Romania, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The Tsar was descended from George I via three different bloodlines. The Tsar's wife was a first cousin of George V. Kaiser Wilhelm II, was also a first cousin of George V, sharing a common grandmother, Queen Victoria, so he was on the list. The line of succession was roughly half Germans. The line included all of the Kings of Prussia except the first king. The line of succession apparently did not disturb the public as much as the Germanic household names, the Germanic titles, and the photos of their King riding with the Emperor of Germany taken only three years earlier.

Further reading

• 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.

See also

• British Royal Family
• Canadian Royal Family
• Australian Royal Family
• New Zealand Royal Family
• Mountbatten-Windsor
• List of descendants of George V
• Windsor, Berkshire
• Windsor Castle
• History of the British line of succession

Notes and references

External links

• Royal Family Name from royal.gov.uk
• House of Windsor from royal.gov.uk
• House of Windsor Tree from royal.gov.uk [Lord Culloden & Albert+Leopold Windsor are missing]