Unofficial Royalty

The House of Windsor was established by the command of George V at the 17 July 1917 meeting of the Privy Council where his declaration read, in part, ‘all descendants in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendants who marry or who have married, shall bear the name Windsor.’ This decision affected many more people than himself, his wife, Queen Mary, and their children. It affected all the descendants of Queen Victoria who lived in his realm. That’s quite a few people and not all of them, were like himself, from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, some were from the House of Hesse, The House of Saxony and The House of Battenberg – Prince Philip’s family dynasty. Yet that’s all it took to change the family’s surname of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Albert’s, and the name of the ruling House. It’s good to be King. Of course there is much more to the story of any name so I will start at the beginning and try to tell the tale without too much digression or commentary – though we all know that is not my modus operandi! :-}

Through the years, members of different dynasties have populated the British Royal Family. Sometimes this was the result of family disputes like the famous War of the Roses, which was fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York. It was the House of Lancaster 1399-1461, followed briefly by he House of York 1461-1470 with the House of Lancaster enjoying a very short return to power 1470-1471 before the York’s final stint 1471-1485. Then there was Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and member of the House of Tudor, which reigned from 1485 through the time of Queen Elizabeth’s death on 24 March 1603. As she had no children (heirs) of her own, she left the throne to James VI of Scotland, the son of her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. James I, as he was known in England, was part of the Stuart Dynasty whose reign lasted from 1603-1714 ending with the death of Queen Anne and the appointment of George Ludwig of Hanover. George I was a German whose mother, Sophia, was a granddaughter of James I. He had the good fortune of being a Protestant - which greatly outweighed the disadvantages of being a foreigner who was unable to speak English. The Hanover Dynasty came to an end with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Victoria had married Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha so their son and heir, Edward VII, was the first and only ruler from the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. His son and heir, George V, who became King in 1910, opted to change their name to Windsor in 1917. George V is considered the first ruler of the House of Windsor.

Now the interesting thing to me about all this is that the King, it is said, chose Windsor, as he felt it to be a good "English" name. The reign of George V was in great contrast to that of his flamboyant father, Edward VII. Edward VII traveled extensively abroad and receives credit for the ambassadorial role he played in forming alliances that proved critical during WWI. He was also known as a playboy, which did not sit well with his son and many of his subjects. George V redefined the Monarchy by establishing the royal family as representing all that was good about England. He believed strongly in displaying deportment befitting a gentleman at all times and he lived his life almost exclusively in England only leaving its shores when duty compelled. A favorite anecdote of mine is that once, when George V was ailing, his doctor’s suggested that he travel abroad for a dose of some good salt air and a change of scenery. George V said he could get both those things in England and chose to convalesce at Bognor Regis on the English seashore. Could these reasons alone cause him to change the family name to something more ‘English’?

Not entirely. Part of the problem was a cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was also a descendant of Queen Victoria. Due to the hardship and terror brought on by the First World War, many people grew suspicious of the British Royals and any allegiance they may have had to Germany. George V, in a bold move to show where his and his family’s allegiance lay, decided to change their surname and that of their dynasty to something decidedly English. He chose Windsor, the name of a castle. He could have chosen Cotswold for a region, Thames for a river or even Kensington after one of his other properties, but none of these names has the same resounding royal ring. Good show George! You not only let your subjects know absolutely where your loyalty lay, you gave them a strong and very English name to identify with.

Well, the story doesn’t end there because George V’s son, Edward VIII, abdicated in favor of his younger brother, George VI. George VI had two heirs, Elizabeth and Margaret, both female. His eldest daughter, Elizabeth II, married Philip of Greece and Denmark, who had legally changed his name to Philip Mountbatten – an Anglicized version of his mother’s, Alice of Battenberg, name - in 1947 when he took the Oath of Allegiance and became naturalized. It was on 8 February 1960 (eleven days before the birth of their third child, Andrew) that Queen Elizabeth declared in the Privy Council how she would like the hyphenated surname of Mountbatten-Windsor to be associated with her own and his (Prince Philip’s) descendants. She, however, chose not to change the name of the Royal House so it remains The House of Windsor.

‘while I and my children shall continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, my descendants, other than descendants enjoying the style, title or attributes of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess, and female descendants who marry and their descendants shall bear the name Mountbatten-Windsor’

This is also reported in the book, Royal House of Windsor, by Sarah Bradford, where she shows a copy of the certificate of marriage between Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips and Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Mountbatten-Windsor dated 14 November 1973. Both the "Official" Royal webpage and Ms. Bradford report this as the first special occasion that the new surname was used. This I found strange as the decree states that ‘while I and my children shall continue to be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor’ and Princess Anne is not only her child, she is also one of QEII’s ‘descendants enjoying the style, title or attributes of Royal Highness and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess’.

As far as the Queen’s other children, we know Edward went by Edward Windsor until his marriage when he opted to go by Edward Wessex. HM’s other children use Prince or Princess. If Edward and Sophie decide to have children, it is my understanding that they have chosen not to have their children titled. So perhaps theirs would be the first Mountbatten-Windsors. Princess Anne has chosen to not title her children, Peter and Zara, who carry their father’s surname, Phillips, so they are definitely not in running. Or perhaps Harry will be the first royal to have children with the surname of Mountbatten-Windsor as William’s children will be Princes and Princesses and Beatrice and Eugenie’s children will most likely carry the surname of their fathers.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds or if the next Monarch to occupy the throne will also exercise the option of declaring a new family and/or House name. Well, in the meanwhile - Long Live the House of Windsor!

Many thanks to all who have written regarding William of Wales – and especially thanks to the reader who caught my error in calling him William of Windsor. It is with great delight that I read all of the wonderful things that you have been noticing about this future King. I’m also glad you share my hope that our curiosity doesn’t lead us to hound him and destroy the beautiful person that seems to be emerging from this extraordinary young man. I wish John F. Kennedy, Jr. were here to encourage and support him in the art of leading a private life as a very public person.

With all good wishes for a happy, healthy and joyous holiday season,

-- Eileen Sullivan --