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The House of Windsor
The British royal family has been called Windsor since 1917. This page explains where the name came from, how it relates to Mountbatten-Windsor, and who belongs to the house today. For the full descent from Queen Victoria, see our British royal family tree.
From Hanover to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Queen Victoria, the last Hanoverian sovereign, married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840 [2]. When their son Edward VII came to the throne in 1901, he brought the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha line, a branch of the House of Wettin, to the British throne in succession to the House of Hanover [1][3].
1917: A New Name
George V, Edward VII's second son, became King in 1910 [4]. During the First World War, in 1917, "anti-German feeling led him to adopt the family name of Windsor (after the Castle of the same name)" [4]. The German name of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was dropped, and the house has been known as Windsor ever since [1].
Windsor and Mountbatten-Windsor
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten, born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark [1]. On 9 April 1952, shortly after her accession, Elizabeth II declared that she and her children would be known as the House and Family of Windsor [1]. On 8 February 1960 she confirmed this, and decreed that her male-line descendants without the style of Royal Highness would use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor [1]. In the male line, Charles III descends from the House of Glücksburg through his father, but he and his family belong to the House of Windsor [8].
The Windsor Sovereigns
| Sovereign | Reign | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| George V | 1910–1936 | Adopted the Windsor name in 1917 | [4] |
| Edward VIII | January–December 1936 | Abdicated | [5] |
| George VI | 1936–1952 | Younger brother of Edward VIII | [6] |
| Elizabeth II | 1952–2022 | Confirmed the Windsor name in 1952 and 1960 | [1] |
| Charles III | Since 8 September 2022 | Eldest son of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip | [7] |
George VI and the Unexpected Succession
When Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936, his younger brother became King unexpectedly as George VI [6]. George VI had married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and their daughters were Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret [6]. Elizabeth's long reign ended with her death in 2022.
The Royal Family Today
Charles III became heir apparent at the age of three, on his mother's accession, and has been King since 8 September 2022 [7]. With Diana, Princess of Wales, he had two sons: Prince William, born 21 June 1982, and Prince Harry, born 15 September 1984 [7].
The Royal Family website’s line of succession begins [9]:
- The Prince of Wales (William)
- Prince George of Wales
- Princess Charlotte of Wales
- Prince Louis of Wales
- The Duke of Sussex (Harry)
- Prince Archie of Sussex
- Princess Lilibet of Sussex
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Since the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, a younger son no longer displaces an elder daughter for anyone born after 28 October 2011 [9]. See our line of succession guide for the full list and the 2026 position on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
In the historical Almanach de Gotha
Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is released under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.