The Monarchs of the House of Windsor
History Page
The Family of George V and Queen Mary
When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she left three generations of heirs who, it was expected, would reign as monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In fact, that dynasty, or rather its name, lasted only sixteen years. In 1917 King George V announced to a war-weary nation that even this nominal link with Germany was to be severed. Henceforth the House of Windsor would reign.
The surname Windsor came into existence only with the birth of George V's great-grandchildren, descended from his younger sons, being the first generation not entitled to be styled 'Royal Highness'.
Although the royal house remains that of Windsor, as confirmed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at her accesion, on February 8, 1960 she announced that her descendants in the male line, other than those styled 'Royal Highness', would take the name Mountbatten-Windsor, by the addition of her husband's name to her own. As with the surname Windsor, Mountbatten-Windsor will not come into general use until the third generation: at the birth of children to any sons of HRH The Prince Andrew,Duke of York, and HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
The title Duke of Windsor was created for the former King Edward VIII at his abdication in 1936, when George VI, father of the present Queen, came to the throne.
The Marriage, which took place in 1947, of the future Queen Elizabeth II reforged Britian's royal links with the foreign dynasties so familiar in Queen Victoria's reign.
Her husband is the former Prince Philip of Greece, 'former' became he renounced his place in the Greek royal succession prior to his wedding, taking the name Philip Mountbatten and being created Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI.
Through his father, the Duke is related to the former kings of Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia, the queen consort of Spain and the reigning Queen of Denmark. Through his mother he was nephew of the late Queen of Sweden and Earl Mountbatten of Burma, members of the House of Battenburg who took the surname of Mountbatten in 1917, when many cousins of King George V followed his example in affirming allegiance to Britain during the First World War.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are related through both the English and Danish royal families. The English line is traced back to Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Alice and the Danish descent is traced to King Christian IX of Denmark.
