THE GERMAN ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY

Some days ago, Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born at St Mary’s Hospital in London (England). The baby is the first son of the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge and is the third in line to the throne after his father and his grandfather, Prince of Wales. The royal baby will be the seventh king of England with the name of George.

In spite of being Queen of England, the origins of the British Royal Family are not in England… They are in Germany!! In 1714, Elector of Hanover, George inherited the throne of England under the Act of Settlement. The new king spoke German and French but only a little English. He was German; not English, but he founded a new house in the throne of England: Hanover.

From 1714 to 1901, there were six sovereigns in England and four of them were called George!!! Curiously, the last king whose surname was Hanover was Victoria, the great-great-grandmother of Queen Elisabeth II of England… and king Juan Carlos I of Spain (they are only curiosities of History…)

The husband of Queen Victoria was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who was German too!!! The royal house changed the name again: they were Hanover but first they were Saxe-Coburg Gotha. Nevertheless, in History of Britain there is only a king with this surname: Edward VII (1901-1910)… Why?

Edward VII is the great-grandfather of Queen Elisabeth II but now the British Royal Family’s official name is Windsor and not Saxo-Coburg-Gotha…

The reason is very simple and it is related to British nationalism: in 1914, First World War broke out and Great Britain declared war to Germany. It was not good for the British Monarchy to have a German official name so they decided to replace Saxo-Coburg-Gotha for Windsor in 1917. After all, one of the castles of the British Royal Family is the Castle of Windsor. The anti-German feeling led King George V to adopt a new (and more English) official name…

Prince George Alexander Louis will be King George VII, in honour of the father of Queen Elisabeth, George VI. The Royal baby will be the seventh George of (German) British Monarchy…

 

For more information: http://www.royal.gov.uk/