This thread is related to the previous one about Elizabeth I or II. I ead somewhere recently that the original family of the current British monarchy was a German name - no doubt because they are closely related to German aristocracy. The article suggested the name was changed to Windsor because of the 1914-18 war with Germany, as a way of distancing themselves from the enemy. It was suggested that the name Windsor was derived from one of their properties or districts.
Can any one throw some more light on this, or is it a royal legend?
The original name was Saxe-Coborg, a line started after the death of the last Hanover, Victoria in 1903, the first monarch being Edward VII and yes, it was a German thing.
Thye name was changed in 1917 under the reign of George V. I would think this was because of WWI yet this was three years into the war, so I’m not 100% sure this was the only reason.
Monarchs of different nationalities ruling different Eurpean countries due to the very complicated web of royal marriages throughout the centuires was very, very common.
The criticism about the King’s German ancestry seemed to come to a head in the spring of 1917. His grandfather, Prince Albert, was of the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, was descended from the electors of Hanover.
From King George V, by Harold Nicolson:
“Lord Stamfordham, when appealed to, was forced to admit that many members of the Royal Family did in fact bears names of Teutonic origin. Mr. Farnham Burke of the Royal College of Heralds was then consulted and asked what was in fact the King’s own name. He was not quite positive. He was certain it was not ‘Stewart’; he doubted whether it was ‘Guelph’; he surmised that it must be either ‘Wipper’ or ‘Wettin.’ The King decided that some new name must be adopted. Several alternatives were considered. The Duke of Connaught suggested ‘Tudor-Stewart’; both Lord Roseberry and Mr. Asquith felt that such a name might have inauspicious associations. The names ‘Plantagent’, ‘York’, ‘England’, ‘Lancaster,’ ‘D’Este’ and ‘Fitzroy’ were all in ther turn considered and rejected. Finally Lord Stamfordham, having discovered that at one time Edward III had been called ‘Edward of Windsor’, suggested this natural English name. It was immediately welcomed.”
By Royal Proclamation on July 17, 1917, the King announced that henceforth his family would be “styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor,” and that all descendents in the male line from Queen Victoria resident in British territories would bear the name of Windsor. He also renounced all claims of the Royal Family to the titles of Dukes and Duchesses of Saxony, and Princes and Princesses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
I seem to recall reading about one European aristocrat who commented on the name change. Her statement was along the lines of: “The aristocracy died when George v changed his name just for the sake of a war.”
The Queen as no last name although her family are known as the House of Windsor. The Queen sighns her name Elizabeth R, for Regina (no sniggering please).
The exeption to this is the Queens son Edward who has broken with tradition and uses Windsor as a surname.
The name change was pretty much due to the reasons outlined above. In 1917 the royal family was becoming unpopular and there were fears of a Russian style revolution. The war had also dragged on for three years with unpresidented loss of life and without an end in sight.
Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth filed a royal proclamation that her children be named “Windsor” and not “Montbatten” (her husband’s name) which is what it precedence said it should be.
The only time previous that a queen’s child suceeded to the throne was when Edward VII (whose given name was Albert Saxe-Coburg), son of Victoria, became king. Victoria was a Hanover, and she was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coberg and Gotha. Her son took his fathers name, effectively starting a new dynasty.
Elizabeth, however, declared that starting with Charles, all of her children would have the surname “Windsor” (apparently she was unconcerned about Anne, whose surname was given as Montbatten, since Charles put Anne out of direct succession. Indeed, she is now 8th in line IIRC). Thus, she will not be the end of the Windsor line. If Charles had taken his Father’s last name, he would be the start of a new dynasty.
Oh, and about Prince Philip’s ancestry, he was of the “Greek” royal family, which means that he is decended from German princes. There never was a Greek born Greek monarch. When they reconstituted Greece as a nation, they simply gave them a king from a German royal house. It’s no wonder that the monarchy lasted so long in Greece… But now I’m just rambling.
Yeah, you’re right - at the same time as the King changed the name for his immediate family, more distant members of the Royal Family who bore German names anglicised them. The King gave them British titles to replace any German titles that they renounced.
Also from Nicholson:
“Thus the King’s two brothers-in-law, the Duke of Teck and Prince Alexander of Teck, became respectively Marquis of Cambridge and Earl of Athlone with the family name of Cambridge. The King’s two cousins, Prince Louis of Battenberg and Prince Alexander of Battenberg, became respectively Marquis of Milford Haven and Marquis of Carisbrooke, with the family name of Mountbatten.”